


Only happy when it rains

by LemonWhirlwind



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: A rose has its thorns, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captain Marvel (2019) Spoilers, Character Development, Character Study, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kree Supreme Intelligence - Freeform, Kree culture, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, StarForce, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2019-12-26 20:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 68,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18290075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonWhirlwind/pseuds/LemonWhirlwind
Summary: Living in a world where some people feel the rain, while others just get wet, can be difficult at times. Especially when you happen to be the only one.But what does it matter if she was the only one to feel the rain? After all, every rain cloud had its silver lining.





	1. Time to shine

**Author's Note:**

> Just watched the movie a second time and it was great! It gave off such an empowering feeling. This fic is an alternative take on the film, a what could have been. I wasn't fully satisfied with the movie plot. There were supposed to be more scenes with the Kree, but they didn't make it into the final cut.  
> So, this is my take on the story.  
> Enjoy! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the first page of a story, the future seemed so bright.

When she opened her eyes, it was to the sight of a familiar ceiling in a familiar room. The same old room which she had had for the past six years.

The place was Hala, the capital planet of the Kree empire. Homeworld of Kree. The Kree empire prospered, if the densely built cityscape was anything to go by. Everywhere the eye looked, massive skyscrapers and spires jutted into the sky. Occasionally a spaceship zipped past with no care for gravity.

Vers went to the window and gazed at the sunrise. It was a morning habit of hers to watch the sun appear from behind the horizon. It was motivational in a way and above all, a true sight to behold; The dawn painted the high towers of Hala in a noble gold, the rays effectively chasing away the last lingering traces of night.

The dawn gifted her with yet another day as it brought with it a new chance. A chance to prove her worth to the Kree Empire. She had many reasons to be grateful towards the Kree. The Kree had saved her from a nearly fatal Skrull attack. They had made her one of them. The Supreme Intelligence had offered her a chance to fight. Without them she wouldn't be Vers. She would just have been another faceless victim off the Skrulls.

After letting those reminders sink in, she headed for her dresser. While getting ready for the day, she went over today's schedule. She had long hoped for this day to come. She had trained from dusk till dawn for this moment. She had stayed strong through thick and thin. And finally, all her hard work had paid off. Her mentor, Yon-Rogg, had deemed her ready to try out the StarForce uniform. She would attend an introduction of the usage of the suit. It would definitely mark a milestone in her life. A step closer to the outside world.

She felt so alive.

“Be the best version of yourself”, she reminded herself. “Time to shine”.

With those thoughts in mind Vers left for the training halls.

******

Vers felt a tingle of excitement in her fingertips as she tightened the last fasteners in her newly given suit. She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she had qualified.

What she wore was the Kree regimental uniform. A uniform worn on missions by heroes -noble warrior heroes- to be precise, her mind interjected. In the beginning Vers had found the concept 'Noble warrior heroes' a little bit over the top. It sounded ridiculous even. How could a warrior be both noble and a hero at the same time?

But now, assessing her own reflection in a mirror, the statement started to have a real ring to it. Damn did the suit make her look badass.

She held up her wrists in front of herself and tilted the vambraces towards the light. She took in the fine details and angular lines, her eyes admiring the design. The silver trimming really managed to highlight the turquoise parts on her armor. 'It must be worth at least half of the galaxy', she thought as she let her fingers trace the star of Hala which jutted out in the center.

She let her mind drift off and unbeknownst to her, all the others had left the dressing room moments ago.

She was just about to turn around in order to see more of the details of the back, when a cold voice from the other side of the equipment room brought her back to reality. 

“Done with the mirror-gazing? Or should we leave you here?”, the voice quipped. 

Vers was just about to get offended by the accusation when she recognized to whom the voice belonged to:

Minn-Erva.

The corners of Vers' mouth turned down. What a killjoy that woman was...

Contrary to popular belief, Vers wasn't self-conceited. She had just marveled at the suit, having waited six long years yearning to wear it. 

It was a direct aftermath of just having to watch from the side as all other Kree left for missions. Missions to the outside. Because out there, in the cosmos, she might find the answers to her past. She also wanted to contribute to the saying 'for the good of all Kree'.

She returned her train of thoughts to the present day. Right, the rude remark… Vers wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself, far from that in fact. However, Minn-Erva would probably be the one supervising her progress today, so better not to pull off anything arrogant. She decided to counter with something neutral.

“Of course, I'm coming”, she answered, even though she couldn’t resist the urge to lift her chin up. 

The woman in red scarf didn’t bother to give her an encouraging smile. She simply turned on her heel and headed for the hallway, not waiting for Vers' response. Vers was quick to join her, taking some long strides to catch up. They made their way through the training facility. 

Endless halls led them through several training wards. Battle sounds echoed from some halls, indicating ongoing trainings. The facility was functionally built; straight hallways led them to a staircase. From there they ascended a couple of floors. It would had been easy to find her way here, Vers noticed, only if she’d known in what directions she was supposed to turn, that is.

They eventually arrived at a gate. The gate was in a metaphorical way the only thing standing in the way of her journey of becoming an eligible Kree warrior. Her heart rate picked up at that thought. Minn-Erva reached out a blue hand and swiftly punched in a four-digit code. Vers took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Not because she wasn't allowed to see the code, but because she needed to calm her racing pulse. Their access was granted, indicated by a dim green light, followed by the gates opening before them. 

They entered the new room

 

****

They stepped into a great training hall, Vers taking the lead. There were dozens of other Starforce apprentices accompanied by their supervisors. Vers' eyes widened in amazement, as the impressions around her sunk in. The hall was spacious to say the least. The corners were decked out with banners, most of which were emblazoned with the star of Hala. Her eyes focused on the marine blue mass in front of her. She estimated there to be a total of eighteen other Kree protégée in the hall. They were all gathered around a podium at the rear end of the hall. Observing the Kree-mass, she payed attention to how uniform they looked. They were excitingly chatting with each other in low key. She joined the rest of the group as the last one it seemed.

Most faces in the crowd were familiar to her, some more so than others. Faces that she had run into in the canteen or during her sparring lessons with Yon-Rogg. However, she could not put names on their faces; she hadn’t had any luck befriending any of them. It was kinda difficult for her to make new friends. Breaking the ice wasn't one of her strengths.

When her eyes fell upon the blue Kree in front of the podium, Vers instantly felt relieved. She knew him from before. 

Their instructor was apparently going to be Att-Lass. She was on good terms with him partly because he was one of the members in Yon-Rogg's team. He had been one of the first she had met when she arrived to Hala. He had even tried to introduce the Kree culture to her. She smiled at the memory.

Att-Lass looked with a watching eye down on the group in front of him. When Vers had found her place, he decided it was time to begin. He cleared his throat, catching their attention. The buzzing voices in the hall went silent. 

“Welcome all, to your new training program. You will, here with me and your supervisors, focus on more advanced soldier training.” His words were appealing, promising more serious content to follow. 

“Five years has passed since you were selected for the Starforce training programme”, he announced in a booming voice. “Five years of hard work, five years of…”, Att-Lass continued.

Somewhere along those line, Vers had stopped listening because it wasn't true, at least not in her case. Unlike the other apprentices, she had had to train an extra year. That made it a total of six years. She had come, or as a matter of fact, been brought to Hala six years ago. Ever since she had been training under Yon-Rogg’s supervision. In fact, that’s the only thing she knew. Her memory went as far back as six years. 

Att-Lass' talk about glory and victory went on and on. He described in his speech how this would be a step in their development, a step towards success, a step closer to glorious moments…

Even though she was used to standing for long periods of time, she could feel a faint numbness in her legs. She shifted her weight impatiently from one foot to the other. The tingling still did not go away. How annoying...How were the others doing? She glanced sideways, to see if they also found the speech long-winded. However, based on their faces, it was impossible to tell; Their stern expressions betrayed no emotions.

“...- this technology has enabled our empire to prosper, it’s importance-...”

It was hard to read from their expressions whether the others took the words to the heart or not. 

“Typical Kree”, she sighed to herself. Why did they always have to hide their emotions behind a carefully guarded facial expression? Vers understood the importance of showing no emotion in a fight situation, she really did, but in everyday life? Was it really necessary? Their laughing-on-the-inside-nature made all her jokes awkward.

Even though she was Kree herself, she didn't always feel like one of them. To be quite frank, she found their canvas-blank expressions unnerving. Speaking of unnerving sensations… Was it just her or was there a slight change in the atmosphere around her?

She focused her senses back on the now. Had anything changed? What about the voice which had gone on about abstract talk? It had suddenly started to emphasize the words, started to speak them more clearly:

“...as-you-all-are-aware-of.”

She quickly let her spaced-out gaze turn back on Att-Lass, meeting his eyes. He had been looking at her. The look he sent wasn’t hostile though, quite the opposite, it was… 

...including, in a way. It was as if he was making sure he had everybody's attention, hers included. A wave of embarrassment hit her, which quickly turned into gratefulness. There it was again. Att-Lass had, yet again, saved her from an embarrassing moment. He was lenient unlike many other instructors who would have scolded her for not paying attention.

After he'd assured himself that she was listening, not nodding off, he continued: “And we will now guide you to through the appropriate use in this technology.” As a mean of showing him her respect, she stayed on the alert for the rest of his speech, which went on for another twenty minutes or so.

On the words “Let’s see how you put today’s theory into practice ”, the actual lesson finally began.

 

****

After roughly an hour, Vers had started to get a hang of the equipment. They had first gone through the basic operations, and now they were to apply them on objects. Distance measurement, probable weight, surface area, to name but a few. She had successfully learned how to activate the device on her sleeve. A basic knowledge if you wanted to use the fine functions. Especially one action was interesting to her. The weight-estimator. 

Att-Lass had mentioned that it could estimate an object’s density and surface area. From there it could calculate the probable weight on objects. How cool. This was sure going to be a handy function when she one day would take part in missions on foreign planets, with foreign materials, foreign elements even. There were so many useful functions to keep track of. How to measure distance to targets? What had Att-Lass explained? Her mind struggled to remember, but the new stream of knowledge was difficult to comprehend. She’d better call for him, Vers admitted to herself. When she saw the smug look on Minn-Ervas face, she thought better of it.

“What could the distance between us possibly be?” Minn-Erva asked in a somewhat challenging tone.

“I’m working on it“, Vers affirmed. She was determined to prove her worth. She could do this. All she had to do was to rely on her gray matter. What had he instructed again? Left wrist, combination 1, 1, 2? She fumbled with the electronics on her left wrist. After a while of deep concentration, she came across a display panel which seemed familiar.

“This ought to be it”, the logic part of her brain reasoned. A yellow-tinted holographic screen popped up. This looked promising. Now all she had to do was to direct the beam at her target. A warm orange glow swept over Minn-Erva. However, the result didn't pan out the way she had expected.

“Species: Kree, Threat: Error; reason: ally”, the device informed her.

Huh, an error? Why didn't it work? Wasn't this supposed to be a distance tracker? Vers narrowed her brows in confusion. Minn-Erva wore an odd facial expression as though she was struggling with herself. Vers hesitated, lowering her outstretched arm. Surely it should be possible to measure the distance to one’s target? Maybe there was something wrong with its performance? How could she check? Right, -the distance to her other arm could easily be estimated. She tried over her own elbow. Orange rays were once again emitted as she pointed the rays over her own arm. “Fatal exception error; species: unknown; threat: unknown”, the holographic screen suggested.

“What?”, she exclaimed confused. Maybe the scanner had misread? She tried a second time, but to no avail; the screen showed her the same text over and over again: “Fatal exception error; species:unknown; threat: unknown”.

Vers felt utterly lost. What was the problem with this thing? Had she missed something? Where did she go wrong? She had barely formed her questions when she got interrupted:

“Okay, enough. You can stop doing that now.” Minn-Erva crossed the distance between them. “But I must admit that the definition genuinely manages to portray your whole character”.

Vers felt her eyes narrowing at the remark. Why was it that Minn-Erva only beamed when she had messed up? She could think of many similar moments, where her supervisor had openly shown malicious-joy. It was as if Minn-Erva seized every chance she could to gloat on all the blunders and mishaps. Minn-Erva had disliked Vers from the very start, -seemingly for no valid reason. Vers didn't understand the root of Minn-Erva's constant dislike. And Vers didn’t need to. She could live with it. Her world didn’t orbit around her future teammate.

“What you came across...”, Minn-Erva began, as she opened her own holographic screen, “...was the Kree Species Detector.” She held up the projection to Vers. “And what you were supposed to use…", she swiped the control bar to the left, “...was this one, the distance measuring function.”

'Kree Species Detector, okay, got it. So from there, one option to the left', Vers thought. She made sure to memorize this. This meant she hadn’t been too far from the truth then. She mimicked the operation just explained and managed to produce a similar projection on her holographic screen.

Then, a bell rang, indicating that the main lesson was over.

“Did I pass?” Vers asked optimistically despite not feeling too optimistic. Minn-Erva skimmed through Vers' evaluation form, taking her time. For Vers, every passing second felt like an eternity. And with each second, she could feel her insecurity growing.

After a moment, Minn-Erva finally said: “You have lived up to expectations, so yes, you pass.”

Vers breathed out a sigh of relief. She did it. She had passed the first test.

“Now, make sure to remember what you just learned”. Vers nodded. “Tomorrow we will continue with helmet generation.”

And with that she was dismissed.

 

***

After the exciting events, Vers retreated to her own quarters.

For some reason her evening training didn't turn out to be a productive as she had hoped. She found it hard to concentrate. Her posture felt stiff and her coordination was out of place.

It was as if her mind kept drifting off. There was something from the past events that kept bugging her, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. She shook her head in frustration. The training was getting nowhere which effectively dragged her motivation down.

Why did she feel so empowered, yet so powerless? She clenched her palms before quickly unclenching them, having noticed that the action had caused them to glow faintly like a smoldering fire. From past experience she knew that it wasn't a good idea to train while not feeling like it. Her unfocused mind had a tendency to leave gaping holes in walls.

“Time to call it a day”, she thought, scrubbing a hand over her face.

Somewhere in her subconscious, the words ´species:unknown´ kept repeating themselves.

 

****

That night she dreamt.


	2. Blue, the most human colour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Dreams are as simple or complicated as the dreamer” -Brian Herbert

That night Vers dreamt. But unlike her usual dreams, this dream didn’t feel like a nightmare. It shared the same traits indeed: it was equally confusing, but it didn’t leave you frightened or make your blood run cold. In contrast to her other bad dreams, this dream felt pleasant, even though its cryptic message was beyond her understanding. 

She saw colors and shapes beyond imagining, beyond comprehension. Flashes of a planet that laid far, far away. A blue planet. The celestial body had a sole moon orbiting the planet, the moon's reflective surface spreading a luminous wash across the backdrop of the cosmos. The vision lasted a few seconds before fading to black like something was obscuring the sun and blocking out all the light. 

The next imagery appeared to be scenery from said planet. Unbelievable landscapes flashed before her eyes. There were vast bodies of water whose rippled surfaces reflected the twinkling light of stars. She thought she could make out fields of ice. Barren. Empty. Frozen. The landscapes did not resemble Hala at all. Instead of a densely built cityscape dominated by angular and harsh lines, these landscapes had softer features. There was almost something easing to them. 

The element of water seemed to pervade her dream. The next dream sequence showed thousands upon thousands of water droplets hitting the ground in one continual movement. Everything felt so real, she could almost feel the spray of water against her skin. Feel the humid air hitting her face. 

In the next moment, her dream reached a turning point. She saw herself. And then out of the blue, she appeared to be falling at a mirror-blank surface and plummeting into it.

*****

She awoke with a jolt which shook her back into reality. Her room was shadowy but not completely dark.

“Is it dawn already?”, her sleepy mind wondered. She blinked a couple of times to get the digital display of her watch into focus. The digits were bright in contrast to her dark room but she managed to make out a number: Four. That meant it was four hours until sunrise. Four potential hours to rest. However, she didn’t feel like she would be able to go back to sleep anymore.

The remnants of her dream were a blurry memory. She was left with a feeling she couldn’t pinpoint. Her dream didn’t appear to be a nightmare, but the experience had still unsettled her. Somehow, it had fed her mind with more questions, and those questions needed to be answered.

This had all the makings of a mystery. What value did these glimpses hold? Were they fragments of a past life, or were they merely fiction? Vers pushed the blanket aside and sat up in her bed. 

Weren't that exactly what dreams were? -Despairing attempts by the heart to fill in the gaps of a forgotten past. Or, as her mentor had put it; Fabrications of the mind. She drew in a long sigh, her shoulders slumping. Anyway, she couldn’t help but brood over these thoughts. All she so desperately wanted was to find the completing pieces…

...the pieces which would patch up her mosaic of a past. She wanted to be whole again.

A frown appeared on her face as she started to absentmindedly pace the room. Usually on times like these she would go training. She found the action a good way to pass the time and also, a way to forget about her bad dreams. However, this time it was different. She didn't want to forget. Thinking about it, this was actually her most useful dream up to now. New questions invaded her head. What had triggered her dreaming? In other words, what had set the cogs in her amnesiac head in motion? 

She stopped her pacing in order to go over the events in her mind. So much had happened yesterday, and there had been so many new impressions to take in. The first thing that sprang to mind was when she had tried on the Starforce uniform. She could still recall the incredible feeling. Vers smiled at the memory, her mind recalling the memory of standing clad in turquoise green and black. Pride was a strong emotion. Could it have been that emotion which had sparked off her dream? But what had it to do with her past? Had she been a warrior before her time on Hala? It might explain her involvement in the Skrull attack. 

She shook her head in disbelief. It might be true but then again, it didn’t explain why precisely the color blue and the element water had pervaded her dream. They had to be of major importance. They acted as the 'silver thread' running through her vision. She closed her eyes in concentration, trying to once again recall the faint memories before they faded into the depths of her mind. Her train of thoughts got interrupted by a soft pattering noise. The sound started from nearly inaudible and seemed to increase in volume.

Where did it come from? She turned her head in a try to pinpoint the exact sound source. It seemed rather close to her. 'The window in the far corner of the room', she concluded. She approached the window cautiously, focusing her senses to be ready if something unexpected happened. The pitter-patter sounded familiar. Like something she had heard many times before. Was it...?

...rain? 

Vers strained her eyes in the dim light, trying to make out the faint pattern. And true enough; heavy raindrops fell from the darkened sky in quick succession. The droplets pelted the glass, forming thin rivulets of water. She pressed her fingertips lightly on the glass and traced the small river-like features on her window. 

It must have started raining just recently, she deduced since the sky wasn’t fully obscured by dark clouds. Vers could see stars shining through here and there, another reminder that it was still night. The remnants of her dream were a blurry memory. She watched the outside rainfall with unfocused eyes. Staring blankly into the rain must have nudged her mind since she suddenly wided her eyes in awe. She remembered a word! 

“Rain”. 

She felt instantly excited. This was going places she realized, getting her hopes up. She let her thoughts play out in the same way. Maybe she would be able to puzzle out the pieces of her dream. 

“Happy”, a second word hit her, and a short moment later, another word followed: “Only” 

Rain. Happy. Only. 

Those three words were obviously out of context, but she held onto them tightly as if they were her cliff in a never-ending storm. They were more than random words -she knew it deep within -they were a means of puzzling out the meaning of her dream. 

She tried to put the words in logical order, which turned out to be difficult. Eventually she decided for the combination “Only happy when it rains”. 

The sentence made little sense to her, but every time she mumbled out the words, a sensation of joy overcame her. The sentence just felt right. It made perfect sense, while not making any sense at all; it was complicated, just as her past, just like her. “Only happy when it rains”, she echoed. Yet, she felt a bit stuck in her thoughts. If she only could come up with something that would trigger more memories. What if she could get closer the rain...

Vers grabbed the window pane but didn’t manage to open the window. It was obviously built not to be opened. No matter how hard she tried to pry the window pane open, it didn't yield an inch. She gave it a last tug with the same outcome. Instead of feeling down and giving up for the outside, this small drawback just got her more motivated. She had to get out there, it felt like the only right thing to do. She couldn’t understand it herself; she just felt an urge to feel the rain. There was something out there in the pouring rain that called for her.

There was no chance that she could go back to sleep now anyway. All her chances of catching some shut-eye were ruined by the sudden excitement. It was decided then. She was heading out in the rain. She quickly changed clothes to her usual training gear which consisted of a dark t-shirt and matching jogging pants. She completed her outfit with a thin jacket, she was going outside after all. 

She cast a final glance at the window before leaving her room, letting the door slide close with a 'click' behind her. 

*****

Outside of her room, both ways down the corridor were lit with dim artificial light. The hallway stood empty which was only logical given the hour of the day. On her dozens of nocturnal walks during her sleepless nights she had never come across anyone else. Guess she was the only one up this hour. Thinking about it… hadn’t Yon-Rogg complained about her odd morning routine being at stupid o'clock? No can do. It wasn’t _that_ often.

The soft padding of her boots disrupted the otherwise silent hall. As she walked down the corridor, plans formed in her head. She walked further down the hallways and stopped by a window. Through it she could see a paved courtyard. The yard was spacious, leaving some patches of exotic-looking plants sticking out in its center. Out there she would definitely be able to experience the falling rain. She noticed that the rain - which had begun with a light drizzle- had intensified to a light rain. To get outside she would have to use the main entrance which was on the ground floor. That meant a couple of floors down. 

Even though she had spent years in this building, the building could be labyrinthine at times. All the narrow featureless corridors and empty rooms made it appear so uniform. She had eventually learned to tell the way around but it required some effort. 

First right, then left and…-

She was about to walk all the way down the corridor when she paused by a familiar door. The room at which she had come to a halt by belonged to Yon-Rogg. She stood there for a while contemplating whether or not to ask for permission to leave for the outside. What would be the best reason? A great many excuses crossed her mind: “I’ll be back, just a normal walk in the rain” to more blunt explanations: “I have a weird feeling and think that the weather outside is calling for me”. No, they sounded too silly - even for her own sense of humor. She snorted at herself and continued her trek towards the main entrance. Why would she need to ask for permission in the first place? This was just a quick break for the outside. She wasn't a prisoner after all, was she? She could come and go as she pleased. Okay, the latter might have been a lie; she wasn’t supposed to venture at nights, or at all. In fact, she was advised against wandering off beyond the building after dark. The caution was due to a security issue.

About a week ago, there had been a suspected Skrull invasion in the city. Allegedly a Skrull spy’s cover had been blown and he had been found out. There had only been one, or so they were led to believe. Even if the direct danger was over, she still felt a little bit uneasy being here all alone. 

The mere thought of the Skrull made her skin crawl. It was common knowledge that they possessed a special, stealthy ability. This ability enabled them to transform into any living creature coded by DNA. You could never be a hundred percent sure that the people you met were the ones they appeared to be. Skrulls could look like anyone, the man on the street, your friend… and what’s worst about it, they could even steal your own appearance.

She shuddered at the idea of a Skrull walking around wearing her face. Luckily the Kree, or the Starforce to be more precise, had quickly taken care of the threat, but still…

An infiltrator within the walls of Hala? The whole concept of shapeshifters sent cold shivers down her spine.

Suddenly she tensed up. An eerily feeling lingered in the air. It was like… somebody was watching her. 

Better to take her pursuer by surprise she decided. In the blink of an eye, she whipped around.  
No one. There was no one there. She strained her eyes, trying to make out any movement out there… She started moving again if ever a bit more tense than before. 

Was it just her or did the shadows seem longer and somehow more invasive than before? She let out a nervous chuckle. As she moved forwards her shadow grow more slender. Surely it was only her own shadow she walked on? Her eyes darted to the side, glancing over her shoulder. But nothing. No one. She could have sworn she had seen a figure looming up out there. Her searching gaze found nothing extraordinary in the emptiness of the corridor. 

Vers stepped closer to the wall to inspect a shaded crevice. To her relief the shadow looked as normal as far as shadows went. She let out a sigh of relief; a breath she hadn’t noticed she had been holding. 

“Just a stupid optical illusion”, she acknowledged. What was the concept again? Right. “A fabrication of the mind”. She nodded assertively, a way to reassure herself of the harmless situation. 

She continued her way down the corridor. If someone indeed had been watching her, they would have noticed that her pace had quickened up a bit. There were only a few light sources illuminating the halls and not so much else. It was indeed much brighter in the corridors next to the window-walls. When she walked deeper into the building the lights were few and far between.

After walking a couple of minutes and turning a couple of corners, she arrived at the main entrance. Vers stopped at the gate. A digital panel was located in the center of the door and the way through was only accessible with a key card. Now came the part she was most unsure about: could she open the door? Was the night-time curfew still in force? She inspected the panel for a moment. Thankfully the screen didn’t at least read anything about a curfew being in force. It must have been lifted she guessed. After all, the suspected Skrull incursion had happened almost two weeks ago. The idea of the security measures being lifted got her hopes up.

She fished her key card out of her pocket and swept the card through the reader. It didn’t turn out the way she had hoped for because the action was immediately met with an angry red light. And to add insult to injury an “access denied” message followed. 

Vers cursed to herself. She had been so close; she could even make out the faint pattering of the rain on the other side of the barrier. She stubbornly tried a couple of more times just for the heck of it. Vers hoped that the spamming would make the system change its mind about letting her through. But to no avail, the system didn’t budge. All efforts were awarded with the same error signal. All she could do was to step back and realize that the main entrance wasn’t going to get her anywhere. However, there was no way that she would let a setback hinder her from reaching her goal. As the saying goes, 'where there’s a will, there’s a way'. 

“Plan B it was”, she thought firmly and turned on her heel. 

***** 

Yon-Rogg was jolted from sleep by a sharp ringing in his room. After years of being a commander his reaction came instinctively. Lately there had been many such occasions. Everything from suspected Skrull sightings to short-notice missions. And not to forget, Vers’ banging against his door every now and then.

What had woken him up was a notice from the alarm system. By the display on his wall he got informed that there was an unauthorized access signal from the main entrance. He was on his way putting on his uniform when he checked for more details on the situation. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the four letters.

V_E_R_S_

His blood ran cold. What could she possibly be up to?

He knew from past experience that Vers could be rather impulsive and often letting her emotions get the best of her. When bothered by nightmares, she used to seek out his company. A habit of hers. When the silence around her became unbearable she turned to him. He used to stand up for her and go training or sparring with her - even though he wasn’t obligated to do so. The training clearly eased her worries as she could focus her mind on something else. 

He owed her that. And for the sake of keeping the Supreme Intelligence informed, he had to sort of question her. It was a fine balance between getting to know how much she really knew and not giving her undesired hints of her past. A memory from one of those early sparring lessons passed his mind. A faint smile crossed his features. It had actually ended in an uncontrolled photon blast, resulting in him being knocked against a wall. Yon-Rogg had indeed felt humiliated by that. The fight had been supposed to be a hand-to-hand combat situation. To him, those didn’t include glowing fists. Vers was indeed impulsive. 

If it wasn’t her usual nightmares, what was it about then? Had she remembered something? Anything of importance? He strongly doubted it. If Vers was to realize what had been kept from her, her reaction would be far more explosive than the present situation. To be honest, he feared that moment. He sincerely hoped that it would never come to it.

Lying to Vers was hard. The mechanical action of telling the lies was easy. Right from the start, on her first time on Hala he had taken her under his wing. As his apprentice, she had quickly started to rely on him. For that he was sorry, because he was no good-hearted person. Whatever it takes they had to keep up the act. He had his loyalty to the Kree. The good of the Kree always came first. If that meant putting up a façade then so be it. What he did was for the common good, he didn’t need the Supreme Intelligence to remind him of that. 

It had been easy in the beginning to tell her a made up story she could cling to. It had been a good plan, to simply detain her and keep her mind off things where it shouldn’t be, until…, he trailed off. Until they could exploit, no, use her energy source. Simple, yet so complicated. He hadn’t planned to grow fond of her. She just..., how could he ever describe it? He saw something like himself in her. He really wanted to give her a good life, to make Vers the best version of herself. His version.

He’d better call the rest of his group, surely they too had gotten the same alert. He had to remain objective and analyze the situation facing them. They mustn’t jump to any conclusions or more importantly, they mustn't tear down everything they have built up. As far as he knew it could be false alarm. 

*****

“What’s the situation? Has there been another Skrull sighting?”. Att-Lass entered the room with Minn-Erva following behind. They looked alert and both had brought their weapons of choice. 

“What is the message all about?” They turned their attention to the only person in the room. Their experienced manner of acting confirmed that they belonged to the Kree elite.

“It’s Vers”, their commander answered, sending them a serious look.

They immediately got the hint. They stayed attentive whereas Yon-Rogg quickly walked them through the situation.  
“...and naturally, she is not authorized to open the door”, he finished.

When it came to Vers they always had to proceed with utmost caution. She was one of their greatest assets if they played their cards right, that is. The three Starforce members tried to arrive at the best plan of action to do so. There was no need to speak with raised voice to state the obvious. “The sooner we find her, the better”. They needed to react at once, Yon-Rogg was aware of that. However, he pushed the thought aside, not letting it blur his decision making.

“Finding her whereabouts will take some time if we are down to three, can we afford that?” Minn-Erva asked critically. 

“What if she manages to break out from here?” Att-Lass interposed.

“Should we call in extra enforcement, in case this runs out of hand?” the sniper tried.

The answer came without delay, indicating that he had decided for that part already. “No, we are going to find her ourselves”. He made a short pause to let his statement sink in.  
“Extra enforcement would surely raise suspicion, and possibly nudge her in the wrong direction.” He searched them for signs of agreement. “Besides... “ he continued his argument. “...it doesn’t seem like she is trying to run away.”

Minn-Erva looked like she wanted to protest, but a look from across the room made her think better of it. She stepped back with her arms crossed and lips tightly sealed in discontent. 

“We need to understand the reasoning behind her behavior”, the amber-like eyes continued.

“Well, there was this small incident…“, Att-Lass began.

“Incident?” their commander prompted while raising an eyebrow. 

“She came across our threat detector.”, Minn-Erva filled him in and turned towards her teammate. She continued; “Vers found it by accident, it was impossible to foresee the outcome.” 

“There’s no prizes for guessing what happened.” The instructor glanced at Minn-Erva.

“Vers didn’t seem bothered at all to me. She shrugged it off, as most of her setbacks.”, she said in her defence, if she needed any. The defensive reaction wasn’t all too unjustified, she noted to herself, as she absentmindedly adjusted her scarf the slightest bit. She didn’t like the way Yon-Rogg massaged his temples. Or was he merely rubbing sleep out of his eyes?

“...and she has not returned to her room?” Att-Lass suggested.

“Negative”, Yon-Rogg retorted. It had been one of the first things he had checked. 

“Is there a way to locate her? A tracker, or something?” Minn-Erva leaned forward to inspect the terminal and swept through blueprints of the building. 

He shook his head. They hadn’t put a tracker on Vers, because they didn’t deem it necessary. In this case however it would had been convenient. The Supreme Intelligence had actually brought up the possibility of inserting a tracker in Vers uniform -a safety precaution, or words to that effect- had the AI called it. He kept that thought to himself. For now they had to figure out where she was the hard way. 

“Let’s be logical here; where would she go?”, he questioned out aloud. 

“You know her best.”, his both teammates deadpanned if ever in their own manners.

Yon-Rogg was silent for a while, looking back. He knew Vers, this wasn’t the first time she was a bit out of line. It had happened before that she sought his company when she wanted to get rid of her nightmares, -memories-, he corrected. He’d always told her that emotions shouldn't rule the good judgement in a conflict situation... On times like those he used to go sparring with her. This was their best lead.

“The training hall”, he decided on. “There are almost five of them on each floor.”

“We better split up.”, Att-Lass assessed.

“Agreed. I’ll take the first three floors, you two check the upper floors.”  
They split up and begun their mission to find their odd and soon-to-be teammate.

*****

Tracking somebody down belonged to StarForce’s repertoire. Yet the search took longer than they had expected. It was the lack of Vers’ intentions that complicated the situation. On the other hand, they were elites after all. They would pull this through, knowing that they had been through harder tasks. All it took were determination and alertness which described the team beyond doubt. After a couple of hollow minutes, the silence finally broke.

“Commander, I think I’ve found something”, a voice sounded over the intercom. 

“Vers?”

“Unfortunately not, but a trail”. There was a slight pause on the communication channel before the voice spoke up again. “There’s a vent grate discarded on the floor. Someone must have removed it just recently”.

On the other side of the line, a groan could be heard followed by the words, “You’ve got to be kidding me”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the following songs: Only happy when it rains - Garbage,  
> Blue lips - Regina Spektor.


	3. Only happy when it rains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.

Vers gritted her teeth as she strained herself upward, pulling herself completely up in the dark shaft. She pressed her palms and feet against the surface of the duct and felt the coldness of the metal. Her body shook from the stress - gifted with enhanced strength or not. 

After failing to leave the building the normal way she had decided to take another route. Her plan was to use the ventilation system since she had a feeling that it would lead up to the roof. The vent pipes went throughout the building, however, they were most common in the large training halls to ensure proper airflow. There was a huge selection of gyms and training halls to choose from and eventually, she had decided for the uppermost training hall. In there they had the convenience to have the most effective ventilation. Effective ventilation meant vent paths wide enough to allow sufficient air flow; wide enough for her to crawl through. Luckily for her the uppermost training hall was closest to the roof but it still meant some five meters of vertical climbing. 

Slowly she started to make her way up the shaft. Little by little she rhythmically jerked herself upwards, alternating between pushing her shoulders back against the metal panels and flexing herself forwards. Her muscles were near the point of exhaustion when she at last made it to the part where the vertical tunnel became horizontal. Now came the difficult part. The next step in the plan was to get a good grip on the metal panes. Her outstretched hand grope around in zero visibility, hoping to grab onto any purchase. Soon enough she found a knobbly surface - probably a seam. Her fingers clawed into the metal joint to provide her with maximal support.

“I can do it”, she uttered in order to convince herself. This was most certainly one of her most toughest morning trainings so far. Even though she felt quite self-confident with her initiative, an afterthought kept niggling her mind; what if she got found out? It would be rather hard to explain herself she realized. If she ever got found out, excusing herself now would probably be even more difficult than it would have been to ask for permission to go out in the first place.

“Whatever”, she thought, “I’ll deal with that fire when it catches”. 

This was an adventure for a change. It might be a horrible decision but it was already done. She was on her way making a break for the outside. Simply put there was no turning back. With committed effort she managed to pull herself up on flat ground. She laid there for a while to catch her breath. The faint shivering in her body had the same pace as the background sound. It was sort of funny, she realized. Vers took in the moment and allowed herself to lie there and to sort out the impressions. Somewhere in the distance rain pattered against the rooftop. The same soothing sound as she had heard from her room but now a more metallic clang to it. So close. 

She struggled herself towards the increasing sound of pattering raindrops. Further down the vent duct she saw a faint light filtering through. She was so near her goal. All she needed to do was to go towards the light at the end of the tunnel. In her case, she had to crawl, contra shuffle her way there as there was limited space to maneuver in the narrow vent.

When she reached the ‘exit’ there was still a layer of steel separating her from her goal. Lying on her back, Vers rested her head on the metal panels and stared at the shaft of light. If there only had been more space in the vent path she could have tried to kick the lid open. Her adventurous mind tried to come up with a way to beat the hindrance. A sudden flash of wit made the answer clear; she could use her photon energy. Although she had not fully learned to master her ‘glowing fists’ she decided to give it a try. Up till now she had successfully managed to melt metal deliberately. To do that she just needed to make her fists glow a white-hot color. She rolled her shoulders back and balled her hands into fists to summon up her powers. 

An orange glow started to waver around her fists as the temperature steadily increased along with the accumulating force. Seeing that a luminous veil had started to form, she placed both hands of the rim of the grating and proceeded to further condense her powers. The heat - transferred by conduction - started to take its toll on the hinges and bolts. After a while when the metal glowed the same hue as her palms, she deemed it was enough. With a gentle push the lid clattered to the ground. She was out.

*****

A gust of cool night air greeted her, its coolness pleasant on her skin. It was not a chilly as one could have thought, taking that she was outside after all and this close to dawn to boot. Hala maintained the temperature at a steady level due to the atmosphere’s high concentrations of nitrogen and nitrogen oxides. Vers didn’t mind the chilly breeze. What was most important was that it still rained.

She stepped closer to the edge of the rooftop with cautious steps. It would not be fun to slip right here. From her high vantage point, Hala looked like it was sleeping. The city was quiet, the darkness and the rain having driven away all bustling traffic. Without bright sunlight the artificial light sources stood out clearly against the black backdrop of night. After a while when her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she started to make out gleaming silhouettes of the buildings.

The city was truly beautiful but what really drew her full attention was the stars. She spun around, trying to take in what she was seeing. Now that her eyes had fully adjusted to the dark, stars shone everywhere. She twirled in a circle, letting the overwhelming vastness of the sky fill her vision. Everywhere she looked stars twinkled back. How come she hadn't noticed it before? They were countless and all around her. They surrounded her by their embrace. 

The stars glittered in the puddles of water, they appeared in every night-darkened window; their reflection decorating the surfaces of every building. Together, they bled into an ocean of stars. An extension of the starry sky itself.

Vers stared at them with wide-eyed wonder like she’d never seen anything like it, and it occurred to her, she very possible hadn’t. Up here on the rooftop, the twinkling stars seemed a hundred times closer than from her window. It might be an infinitesimal distance closer given that the stars were light years away to begin with. But still... The stars seemed definitely closer now. Nearly tangible.

She held up a hand wishfully, imagining touching the stars, almost succeeding. This moment was so beautiful it must have been plucked from a dream. A silvery thread of water ran down her forehead and she closed her eyes. “Beyond imagining, beyond comprehension”, she murmured. The rain picked up, sending more water droplets running down her face. She thought back to the words she had puzzled out only moments ago. _Only happy when it rains._ The statement had a ring of truth; she felt truly happy in the rain. Joyful. She took a moment to just stand there, to let the rain patter against her closed eyes, savoring the quietude. Her still mind was soon filled with images of her dream. They resurfaced once again like a slideshow in her mind.

"I'm only happy when it rains", she hummed.

"I'm only happy when it's complicated", she filled in, this time accompanied by a melody.

She had remembered more snippets of lyrics, probably from the refrain. Moreover, the rhythm was catchy she noticed as she was nodding her head. A melody old and half forgotten, tucked away in the back of her subconscious. Flexing her calf, she kicked off into a twirl, the movement slightly awkward since she didn't know exactly what she was doing. Water puddles shimmered crazily as she splashed through them, the ripples gently lifting the stars back into the sky.

How did the rest of the song go? She stopped in her tracks and waited for any impression to appear. “I'm only happy when it rains…”, she was getting excited. Out of joy she swung herself around a bar sticking up from the ground. Landing gracefully, she took some sidelong steps and dodged under a rack. Every following movement came naturally as she intuitively felt the sense of a rhythm. In her enthusiasm blue pulsing waves had started to reverberate off her fingertips. 

_I'm only happy when it rains_

_I feel good when things are goin' wrong_

_You'll get the message by the time I'm through_

_When I complain about me and you_

And then a pause.

_You can keep me company_

_As long as you don't care_

“As long as you don't care”, Vers echoed as she shrugged off her jacket, letting it slide down on the ground. Without the jacket to shield her from the downpour the rain made her wet within seconds. It thoroughly drenched her clothes and gave them a darker tint. 

“You wanna hear about my new obsession? I'm-...”. The lone dancer did a second pirouette, hair whipping out behind her as she did so. 

“I’m only happy when it rains”

Unbeknownst to her, the stars shone even more luminant now, their combined glow stronger than the light any moon could ever dream of providing. It was as if they had willingly turned themselves into small spotlights to fuel the ongoing drama. And their plan worked. 

Vers gracefully kicked off her boots, letting them join her jacket on the ground. The coolness and wetness of the ground was entirely forgotten as she lightly stepped around, making twirls and occasional jumps. Only after stumbling across a sharp metal edge after jumping up a high metal podium, did the knowledge filter through. _Why am I barefoot? And up this high?_ A drop directly followed by a roll to break the fall had her again standing with both feet on the roof. 

Stars shone in the puddles beneath her feet and shimmered crazily as she danced through them. The stars were once again lifted back into the sky. She perceived more of the lyrics but what next crossed her mind was fully unexpected.

**I only smile in the dark**

“What?”, she exclaimed out loud, brown eyebrows drawing together. She had just been been preparing a leap but had to stop abruptly. This dark and cryptic sentence came totally out of the blue and shook her out of her trance. 

“To only smile in the dark?”, she sounded, incredulousness present in her voice. That didn’t sound healthy. What kind of dark confession was that? It was shocking, there was even an rebellious hint to it. A faint cease appeared on her forehead. Of course, there were worse confessions. Far worse. In the last couple of weeks a bunch of weird realizations had turned up. Among other things, she found herself actually liking the feeling of annoying Minn-Erva. Especially when Yon-Rogg was around. 

_You'll get the message by the time I'm through When I complain about me and you_

Or, what about the fact that last time she knocked on his door to wake him up, she was perhaps not that bothered by the nightmares. She simply couldn’t wait until morning to get their training started. Whoops… and still, she didn’t feel bad about it.

But to only smile in the dark? What had it to do with her self-discovery moments? What was going on inside her head? Perhaps she had misheard the lyrics in her head? It was a possible explanation, she reasoned. Vers tried to replay the part once again. But, to her dismay, the wording turned out exactly the same. 

_I only smile in the dark. My only comfort is the night gone black._

If this was an important song from her past, what kind of person had she been? Had she really run all the way out here in the pouring rain to find out she was… How to put it? Not sane. Not normal. Not-. She stopped abruptly in her train of thought, feeling a smile creeping up her water-drenched face. It all made perfect sense. This expression explained her odd sense of humor, it explained why she sometimes felt like a complete stranger on Hala. It was a proof she'd had a personality way before her memory loss. She was one in a million. Unique. She felt joy stemming from her heart and cascading along her outstretched arms. She looked down and noticed blue tendrils of raw energy dripping down her glowing hands.

A sudden sharp and stinging feeling in her neck interrupted the strands of energy, causing them to dissolve into the falling rain. The chip on her neck hummed and the pain faded away. “What was that all about?”, Vers shook her head in confusion. The sudden change in its action worried her. Had she exceeded its limits? Had she hit the boundaries on how much energy it could generate for her? It was after all the source of her powers.

A shift in the air broke her worried thoughts and alerted her to a strange presence in the surroundings. Something felt off, she could trust her instincts on that. The retina of her eye caught a red beam of light cutting through the shower of raindrops. She trailed the beam with her eyes but the ray disappeared from her vision. "Where did it go?" Vers tilted her chin down and noticed that a red dot had appeared on her chest, lingering just above her heart. It didn’t take much to put two and two together. She could almost guess the next words. 

“Target locked. Permission to shoot?”, a familiar sniper quipped.

There in the rain, about a stone’s throw away, stood Minn-Erva, water dripping down her uniform, as well as disdain from her scowl. 

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wenn sie tanzt - Max Giesinger (free translation into English) 
> 
> And when she dances she is somewhere else  
> For the moment she’s where she wants to be  
> And when she dances she’s somebody else  
> Lets it all go, just to have the feeling
> 
> Then she walks barefooted in New York  
> Hitchhikes all by herself through Alaska  
> Jumps over board in Bali  
> And dives through the blue waters.
> 
> And when she dances she’s somewhere else  
> Lets it all go, just to have the feeling


	4. Not alone out there

Although Vers was fully aware of the red dot trained on her chest, she didn’t feel intimidated by the situation. Quite the contrary, she felt calm - relatively calm, given that she was clearly in a situation where the odds didn’t favor her. Being in the crosshairs of a certain sniper, who openly hated her guts, should make her feel alarmed. Yet she did not feel that way.

From past experience, Vers knew that Minn-Erva’s bark was worse than her bite. Snide remarks seemed to be as far as her threats went. And, the only daggers that existed between the two of them, were the daggers in Minn-Erva’s look and speech.

Her eyes took in the rifle that was fixed on her. The sniper had a steady position, having her target locked. Vers didn’t shift position either, albeit Minn-Erva stood on high ground this time. Nothing more than a mild uneasiness reached Vers’ consciousness. There wasn’t much more to it, she reasoned. She had confidence in her safest bet: Minn-Erva most likely didn’t have permission to shoot her in the first place.

Vers’ gaze wandered off to look for backup, because obviously the blue woman wasn’t unaccompanied. The others couldn’t be far away. Looking past Minn-Erva, Vers could make out another figure in the rain. She guessed it was probably Att-Lass, given the silhouette. Otherwise it was hard to tell, because he had his helmet activated as a means of shielding his eyes from the rain.

“Stop what you're doing”, he ordered.

“Stop?”, she huffed to herself, but still obeyed the instructions. It would have been hard not to stop. Their appearance had really ruined the moment for her. Vers wanted to ignore them, to reach back to the moments before. And so, she turned her attention back to the sky, only to notice that the ocean of stars had vanished. The stars had retreated back behind rain clouds, which effectively dimmed their light next to invisible. Gone were their embracing warmth and closeness. All that remained was cold and distant lights. It was as if the mere presence of her intruders had forced the stars from the sky, leaving ever so tiny, distant lights in their place. 

“Starforce indeed”, she thought ironically.

The way they appeared all hostile made her feel more guilty than she actually found herself to be. Sure, she’d probably violated a number of unwritten rules of going outside and using a unofficial way or whatever. But this-?

Her train of thoughts got interrupted, as questions started to rain over her:

“Identity and position?”, the first question required from her, followed by a cascade of similar queries. 

Despite understanding the necessity to answer routine questions in order to shed light on the situation, Vers found the situation exaggerated; this was way over the top. 

Requesting her to prove her identity and having her to talk about her past experiences going back more than six years... Seriously, she knew where they wanted to get with questions like these. 

Did they really suspect her to be a Skrull? If they had observed her, which she didn’t doubt they had, they would have noticed her blue-glowing hands. She had managed to summon up some photon powers. No Skrull could do that! It was definitely something that one could not simply oversee.

“Did you, or did you not act alone?” The man behind the visor asked.

This question truly sounded like a silly question. Of course she was alone, what did they expect? Before she could give a totally uncalled-for reply, a voice cut through the interrogation-scenario, saving her from an impulsive outbreak. 

“Stand down, it is Vers”, the voice called. She knew to whom it belonged, and it made her feel a bit relieved. His presence felt soothing, however, she wasn’t sure for how long that feeling would last.

Yon-Rogg emerged from the shadows. He had taken some time to assess the situation before joining the company. Now, he slowly started to approach the lean figure on the rooftop.

Crossing the distance between them, he tried to look as casual and non-threatening as possible. He had intentionally left out his visor, even if it stood in contradiction to his instinct to maintain an unobscured vision. Moreover, in a normal situation, he would have worn his helmet, to shield him from the potential threat. As for this case, he didn’t want to add any additional barriers between them, they would only make Vers all the more defensive.

“We got a warning signal, there was a breach at the main entrance”, he explained calmly, taking a couple of cautious steps forwards. Then he made a short pause, as a way of making sure that he had her full attention before continuing.

“We tried to make head or tail of the situation, and in the end, we found you here, on the roof.” He was now about two arm-lengths from her.

“As you can see, this clearly put us on edge”. The commander angled his body towards the other two Starforce members, while making sure he still faced her.

Most of the story was true, especially the expression ‘put us on edge’ described the situation well. Their hectic search for her was still fresh in his mind. He shot a sideway glance at his teammates and noticed that they were still pointing their weapons at Vers.

“Dismissed”, he directed. 

The two Starforce soldiers obeyed instantly, letting their aim down. Vers watched them disappear back into the dark. She kept looking in the same direction, although she had lost their silhouettes moments ago. She knew that one of the Starforce members still lingered at the scene, and she didn’t know how to relate to that fact. 

******  
The rain continued to fall down, regardless of the two persons still standing on the rooftop. 

Yon-Rogg sighed as he tried to figure out the rationale behind Vers’ actions. What had brought her up here? He knew that she sometimes admitted to feeling alone, feeling now and then shunned by the other apprentices. To complicate things further, she was often haunted by nightmares. What was the real reason she had ventured out all alone on the rooftop, especially at this point in time?

She hadn’t actually considered to…Had she? Suddenly, he was not sure. Were there any signs he had overlooked? It was hard to tell, he hadn’t lately spent so much time with her, all missions and meetings eating up the time for training. Best to deal with the situation with clear action. 

“Vers… Were you planning to…”, he cut off his own sentence and made a vague motion at the roof ledge. Vers furrowed her eyebrows at first, but then widened her eyes when it filtered through to what he was referring to. 

“No! Nothing of the kind. I would never-”

“I just wanted to draw out the meaning of a strange dream. That's all there is to it”, she said to wave off the conversation to follow. Vers even tried to feign okayness, despite knowing that her efforts weren't the least convincing. 

“Vers, be honest with me, are you depressed?”

Had she heard right? Yon-Rogg out-rightly asked if she was feeling depressed? She wasn’t sure what she actually felt. Vers closed her eyes to feel which emotion would surface. No, not depression, perhaps more like the feeling of being downhearted or disillusioned. 

“I’m feeling…” What was the word again? Vers tried to wrack her brain to recall the proper word. 

“I’m feeling blue”, she finally admitted. 

“Blue?” 

Yon-Rogg didn’t understand her thinking. How could one feel like the color blue? He inspected her from head to toe, trying to find something he had missed. Vers didn’t look the slightest blue to him. Sure, she was drenched from the rain, and maybe shivering a little, but blue? Perhaps he had misheard her?

Sensing his confusion, Vers tried to develop her ponderings to a more understandable degree.

“So, it’s not usual to say that you feel blue?”, she tried, looking unsure.

“No, I’ve never heard of it at least, but maybe it’s possible”. He did not like where this was going. This peculiar expression had obviously something to do with the fact that Vers had had a past on C-53. But it should not be possible, she shouldn’t be able to remember such things. 

A short silence stretched on before Vers continued with her ramblings. And to his dismay, she was in for the same train of thoughts. It would not be wise of him to encourage the spark of hope which had been lit in her chest. For he knew that nothing good could ever come out if she figured out the reason behind her mind blanks. The Supreme Intelligence would at once demand her to be kept as a prisoner. They could not risk the possibility of her walking away with all that cosmic power coursing through her body. 

Poor Vers, she, who had just got entitled to take part in missions... To make it to the top, only to wind up at the first day didn't sound like a feat to be happy about.

The secrecy, all the lies, the alternated truth. Yon-Rogg decided that it was better to let the flame burn out, letting it shrink back into oblivion, back to the depths of her mind where she wouldn’t be able to find it. He tried to put on his most concerned mask he could muster. He hoped he could pull off this trick. At least, his worry for her was all genuine.

“-..., or, I don’t know”. Vers tugged at the hem of her shirt, trying to smooth out some invisible wrinkles. She continued and appeared to soon look up. This was his chance. 

“Is there a Kree expression that goes something like, ‘only happy when it rains…’ or, ‘some people feel the rain, others just...”, Vers looked up, meeting his eyes. She instantly trailed off when she saw that the concern in his eyes had intensified to worry. 

“It’s probably nothing”, she assured him, all while dismissing her ponderings. 

“Why didn’t you come wake me up? We could have talked or gone sparring”

“I didn't wanna bother you”, she softly admitted. 

“Well, congratulations. See where that got me”, he sighed, a faint discontent in his voice. Oh how much bother it could have saved him, but he was relieved he got this close-call situation saved. 

A pause stretched on. He stayed silent while Vers stared at the ground. 

*****

Vers could feel his gaze on her and wondered if she would find disappointment or something worse if she looked up. She sneaked a glance, and to her relief, the concern still shone in his eyes. 

“Vers, I won’t raise accusation because of your wrongdoings, but I can't look through my fingers, even when it’s comes to you”. He added. “I’ll have to report back to the Supreme Intelligence. It will decide what will happen next.

She knew that. 

“I'm sorry”, she said, both her posture and tone hinting genuity of her words. She had known that her actions could get lead to trouble but hadn’t meant trouble for others. At least, not for him. She had only wanted to draw out the meaning of the dream. 

Deciding that their talk was finished, Yon-Rogg picked up Vers’ jacket from the ground, wringing out the excess water before he offered it to her. She took it.

“Look at you, you are acting out of line. I mean...”, he poked her forehead, “...who is in control in there?”

The question got her back to present. Yeah, who had been in control? He had always stressed she should be the best version of herself. Evidently, by how the situation had played out, this wasn’t the best version of herself. 

If she had known who had been in control, she would have answered.

“We’d better get inside now”. He nodded his head in the direction where her shoes laid, indicating she should go get them. 

*****

Their trek back to her quarters was dull.

She tried to follow in his footsteps, stepping only where he had set his foot. Doing so, she had to take quite long strides. Apart from that little detail, she felt sullen. She knew that it was unbefitting of someone of her status to engage in such undignified manner, but to be honest, she didn’t have the energy to care right now. 

The sound of their footsteps filled the corridors, however, a few moments later, another sound took its place. A sound she was more than happy to hear. 

_You know I love it when the news is bad  
Why does it feel so good, to feel so sad?_

_Pour your misery down on me_

There it was again, the snippets of lyrics invading into her mind, creeping in like a welcome prey. She started to silently hum along with the lines. 

“...-when it rains-, ...when it’s complicated, And though I know you can't appreciate it.  
Subconsciously or not, Vers emphasized the last part ‘And though I know you can't appreciate it‘ quite loudly. Perhaps it happened to describe the current situation just right.

“I'm-”. Because her preoccupation, she didn't even react when the person walking in front of her had stopped walking. Once it did filter, she jerked to a halt, now standing only inches away from his unimpressed face. She hurriedly took a step back to steady herself.

“What?“, she asked perplexed, not sure what actually had happened.

“Your room, we've arrived”, he replied stiffly. 

“Oh”, she stated. This was actually her door. The time seemed to have passed extraordinarily fast. Had they taken a shortcut or something?

“Um, thanks?”, she mumbled, slightly embarrassed. Gods she needed to hide. 

Vers shut the door right behind her, completely missing the fact that she nearly managed to slam the door in his face.

*****

“Well, that went perfectly”, her sanity, or at least what was left of it, mocked. 

Vers drew in a long breath and slumped against the door.

*****

Moments later, when the sun started to struggle over the horizon, bringing dawn in its wake, Vers did not get up. 

Even when the the first morning rays stabbed her eyes, indicating that a new chance stood at her doorstep, Vers did not get up. 

*****

Simultaneously, deep in space, on a Skrull ship orbiting the planet of Torfa.

“TRT79XX”, someone spelled out, a roughness in their voice. 

“Got anything else?”, another one interjected.

“Three dots, three dashes, and-”

In the far back of the space pod, dangling from his ankles, was a limp figure. The once weatherworn blue skin was now filled with gashes and a few ugly, purple blotches were visible. His face was ashen, his shallow breathing being the only indication that his body wasn’t completely lifeless. 

The captors were lizard-like, their skin hard and a green-brown color in its appearance. On either side of their reptilian face, a large set of pointed ears stood out, indicating that these creatures were neither Kree nor Human. 

Around the captive, a bunch of hunched figures swarmed the room. What added to the bizarreness of the situation, was that they weren’t paying the slightest bit of attention to the spy’s deteriorating state of health, instead they swarmed around a piece of alien technology. A set of screens showed a variety of switching scenes. Barren landscapes and cave walls flashed through. 

“That memory was a total dead-end, where should we dig next? . An argument of exhilarated voices broke out, a tug of war on what to exploit next.

“Thalos, do you got any advice?”

A Skrull, most likely a Skrull named Thalos, spoke up. “No, not that memory, he has already left Hala at that point. Go back some sequences”. 

The screens froze for a moment, before a rapid slideshow of pictures flashed across the display. 

“Doesn’t he actually know more about the Kree’s newly acquired weapon?”. Growls of displeasure filled up the confined space. Some figures started to pace the small room.  
A hand clenched itself, leaving deep crescents on the spy’s already scarred face. 

“This is of paramount importance”, scope out the secrets already”. 

“No can do. We have combed through every corner of his conscious, there’s nothing more to it”. 

A scraping noise was heard, followed with a grunt. “Typical attributes of Kree spies. Hollow on the inside, only entrusted with worthless information. The Supreme Intelligence doing all the thinking for everyone”. 

“There’s nothing left to dissect, what do we do now”. 

A hunched figure in the corner of the room stepped forwards, drawing himself to full height. He was at the very least three heads taller than the others, his towering form making some of the smaller shapes cower away in respect-tangled fear. A ghastly grin stretched the corners of his mouth, exposing a set of pointy teeth. 

“Who hungers for someone from the inside, from the belly of the beast itself?”

The others nodded slowly, picking up his lead. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He craved more. With a ferocious glint in his eyes, he snarled, 

“We have his identification code, we’ll lure them into a trap. We will corner them into the hollows of Torfa. They will find no escape”. 

Total disorder broke out, savagery and ferocity filthing the atmosphere. “Just as I like it”, the general thought, content with what he had rigged up. 

Cries of “All hail general Dorrek, praised be his chaos” rang out in the air.

“Now, who wants the honor?”, Dorrek's grotesque laughter echoed, growing stronger as he slowly approached the limp figure.


	5. Train of thoughts

“A-Are they gone?”, a timid voice asked.

“Yes, Norex, they are gone. For now”. 

A small Skrull, known as Norex, appeared at the doorway leading from the back of the pod. Upon hearing the news, he visibly relaxed, his shoulders somewhat slumping. He made his way cautiously to the centre, turning to Talos for a recap of the transpired events. 

Additionally three hunched figures made their way into the place. They also seemed to be somewhat nervous, since they kept casting quick glances across the room. 

“What a relief. Finally some time to breath”, one of them sighed. The stillness was soon broken by an alarmed yelp.

“What did they do to him?”. Fear-filled eyes stared at the corner, where a slumped figure laid propped against a wall. There was no doubt he was dead. 

The man, known as a Kree scout to them, had been one of many information sources they had abducted. In times like these, with the ongoing Kree-Skrull war, it was imperative to keep up with the latest events and plans. They needed people from the counterpart to see if they had come up with anything of concern, for instance, if they suspected inhabited planets to be infiltrated by their kind. If so, the residents would have to be evacuated. Nevertheless, they didn’t like how the memory obtaining had turned out this time.

“We got it confirmed. The Kree are developing some kind of weapon that undoubtedly will change the name of the game.”

The unruly mob’s sudden stop by their space pod had not been part of their plan. The whole situation had eventually got out of hands. The general, known as Dorrek, and his fellows had been really eager to follow the newly received lead. All their rebellious general cared about was quick results. 

“And…”, the figure who seemed to be in authority added. “...the scout had suspicions on our camp in the south”.

“Oh-no!”

“He had only deemed it as low-risk. But now, it won’t stay that way thanks to Dorrek’s plans to engineer a distress signal”

Talos cradled his head in his hands and continued. 

“It’s really a bad timing. From past experience, I fear that the Kree will send considerable forces there.” 

The assembled Skrulls exchanged knowing looks, for it wasn’t the first time they had to give way for offensive forces. Talos and his people were great shapeshifters, they had to be, as they were under constant persecution by the Kree. 

Contrary to the universe’s belief, they were not all infiltrating planets in order to take over their regimes. For some, it was a way to seek the best refuge, a place to settle down. Torfa happened to be one of these planets.

“And the locals, we can’t even warn them. War is unfair.” one of the Skrulls sobbed, green hands pressed over his face.

“Yet there are those who would claim that war is an artform; fools they are and fools they remain”, their leader condemned.

They couldn’t lay open that people were living in disguise on Torfa, as Dorrek would reject the tactic and deem it degrading. Moreover, he would demand that every Skrull engaged in the war. Hiding was definitely no option to him.

“And all violence, they are taking it too far”, one of them stated. He, and surely the others too, had the previous mind interrogation fresh in mind. Obtaining good leads was complicated. But all the same, they needed information from the Kree, there was no denying it. 

As much Talos was loath to admit it, they had to let the situation play out anyway. He held a small, shiny item in his hand. Sometimes, it was a real burden to be in charge. He brushed his thumb over the item’s smooth golden frame.

They had to proceed; too much was at stake not do so.

*****

Vers sat leaning against the door. She was sitting there, doing nothing in particular, apart from staring idly at the opposite wall, her eyes not really searching for anything of interest. Her eyes were half-open and dimmed, but beneath the surface, changes were visible. 

She had fallen into a somber, melancholy state, feeling emotions that she would rather have ignored, letting them mix with her dull thinking process. Somewhere in between the dwelling waves of emotions, she recognized the feeling for what it was. Sulking. 

She had to pull herself together, sulking wasn’t really her style. After all, she didn't want the others to think that her past was more important than the present, that is, more important than them. She really needed to get up. As if on cue, a knock sounded, adding to the reasons to get up. Vers jumped to her feet. A strand of hair had come loose from her ponytail. She tried to blow it from her face, but it stubbornly drifted back, coming to land in the exact same place. She tucked the stubborn strand behind her ear. 

Opening the door, she was met by a Kree she didn’t recognize. By the uniform he wore, she could tell he was from the service of the state. 

The messenger eyed her, her poor first impression likely didn’t go unnoticed; her clothes wrinkled from being damp and several hair strands had come loose from her ponytail, adding to an unruly appearance. There went her first impression. 

Just like you could divide the Kree into blue and pink skinned, you could also divide them into those who liked, or at least accepted, her rebellious streak, and those who thought she should moderate, keep in and constrain her outgoing character. ‘When in Hala, do as the citizens do’, they said. It was common fashion to behave like those around did.

“Yeah?”, Vers arched an eyebrow. 

“You've been summoned to the Supreme Intelligence”, he announced. “The commander expects to see you in the hallway within half an hour”. In synchrony with his last word, he gave her a nod before disappearing down the hallway, leaving Vers standing with thoughts running through her mind. 

This was unexpected. She'd thought that Yon-Rogg would simply report back to SI. She hadn’t expected to be called in as well. But taking the past events into consideration, it did make sense. 

Vers had heard of the Supreme Intelligence before. Everyone spoke highly of the Supremor and seemed to have a special tone reserved exclusively for the Supremor. This practice was a part of their society’s foundation, they were committed to show loyalty to the SI, their ubiquitous intelligence which was ensuring the best for the community.

If she was to encounter the great ruler, she needed to look more representative. To begin with, she needed clean, dry clothes. And a shower. 

*****

She opened her wardrobe and eyed its contents. It looked empty. Okay, not completely, but there wasn’t much to choose from. All she had was clothes from the military. After a quick consideration, she opted for a tracksuit she liked.

Speaking of being empty... her stomach was definitely empty. Different options started to form in her head. To take a detour to the canteen or to be ready well on time… She was down to weighing up what was the most important values in the given situation: being well on time or combating her increasing hunger. Maybe she could do both? If she interpreted her stomach right, it was definitely in favour of giving a try. 

*****

Vers crossed the corridors with hasty steps. There were only a few minutes left before her meetup with Yon-Rogg. The situation was a bit hectic and she would rather have postponed the whole thing. However, it was no option for her; procrastination didn’t fit in on today’s schedule, meeting the SI did. Vers braced herself. Surely she would feel differently about the situation when she got something to eat. Determination set on her face, she hurried towards her newly set up goal.

Her conquest had barely started when it came to an end. On her way down the main hall, she met Yon-Rogg. His face lit up at the sight of her. She slowed down and came to a halt. She tried to assess the moment. Most likely, he thought she had decided to be early for once. It would be sad to ruin his belief, if he indeed had gotten his hopes up. 

“Right on time. Let’s go”.

She had been right in her guesswork. He was about to take his leave, when he noticed that she wasn’t coming along. He turned his attention back on her. It seemed like his mentee hesitated. He got back to where Vers stood and searched for signs of fear in her eyes.

Fidgeting, Vers felt his concern. She wanted to tell those amber eyes that it was nothing like that. She wasn’t afraid, not yet at least. Sure, the thought of meeting the mysterious leader unnerved her, but right now, there was another matter she would have addressed. Finding the right words was difficult. Her stomach probably thought that it was taking too long, because it gave an audible growl.

He got the lead. “No, we are not going to the canteen, we are heading for the metro.”

Vers looked as if he had denied her of today’s breakfast.

”You can buy something on the train”, he assured her, amused by her facial expression. “We will be there soon enough”.

*****

Minutes later, Vers was sipping on the most strange looking blue slush, the color and consistency as exotic as the flavor.

“So, a trip for the city center for a change” she said, happy that she had somebody to talk to. They were making their way to the city-center, as she had been summoned to the Supermor. It wasn’t that often she left the neighborhood. They held a loose grip on the handrails. She and Yon-Rogg had decided to go for the standing places.

Vers looked out the window and saw subway stations with people on platforms flashing past. She followed the sign on the digital display, as it changed every time the train passed a stop. Most of the names were unfamiliar to her. In fact, when it came to the different districts, she wasn’t familiar with them, as she seldom traveled throughout the cities of Hala. She felt relieved to know that at least one of them knew their way around. 

There were plenty of people on the train, confirming that it was a popular public transport. It was calming to hear the buzz of voices around her. It reminded her that this was a normal day. For normal people. She had to push away the nervosity to the back of her mind. Vers cleared her throat lightly, as she had done a couple of times during the past minutes. She tried to focus on her drink, swallowing against the lump rising in her throat.

It was hard to imagine that this was real. Vers concentrated on tangible sensations around her, trying to ignore the uncertainty creeping up on her. 

The train gave up cracks and squeaks as the metal tube shimmied at high speed.

It would be her first time to stand before the Supremor. Could she anyhow prepare herself for the encounter? 

“So...”, she said, trying to buck up. “...How does the Supreme Intelligence look?”

There was a flicker of something, some unreadable emotion, on his face, gone as soon as noticed. “It will take the form of the person you admire the most”, he replied.

This seemed like essential information, if not, a good lead. So the AI had no standard appearance, it was allegedly different for everyone. Maybe there was a way she could deduce who she would meet at the Supremor. Her next thought spilled over spontaneously.

“And who do you see?” She looked up at him. It would be most interesting to know who he saw.

Not surprisingly, he replied in the negative. “I will not tell you”

“It’s me you see, right?”, she winked, all traces of uneasiness due to her foreboding meeting completely gone. 

He refrained from rolling his eyes, but gave her a noncommittal shrug, as to say, ‘maybe, maybe not’. 

Vers resumed her window gazing.

*****

In contrast to the metro, the city was more crowded and vivid. If the metro was a means of communication, were people behaved in a very formal way, the city was more than a place to get by. Ever since arriving in the metropolis, people were interacting with them. Some even stopped by to talk to Yon-Rogg, he seemed to be some kind of role figure to them.

There were more impressions to take in. As they got closer to the urban center, it was hard to take a hundred steps without him getting surrounded by admirers. Their enthusiastic attention, crowding around him. Young admirers, idolizing Yon-Rogg. Questions were pooling over him, most of them relating to his adventures and missions. 

“Did you really defeat a Leviathan all by yourself?”

"Well, it was more like team play, and-". 

Vers let herself be pushed aside by the throngs of people. She stepped back a distance, grinning at her mentor from the side. She didn’t mind the distraction, because it meant she could finally have a look around the city. 

Some of the building facades were alive, with animated digital notice boards filling up their surface. The messages were everything from news and public notices to more colourful and flashy shopping adverts.

Was that…? There was a familiarity to one of the wallpapers. She walked closer, as she wasn’t quite sure if she could believe her eyes. Not because she didn't trust her vision, but because the depiction was unexpected. Yep. No mistaking it. A StarForce poster was staring back at her. Vers let out a giggle. She could picture how Minn-Erva would react if she got that poster as a souvenir from the city.

Vers continued her way down the quarter. A set of curious wallpapers drew her attention, and so she walked further into an alleyway. The setting took a drastic change. While most of the notice boards she had previously seen were neatly arranged in straight lines, there was no logic arrangement for these posters. Some were tilted on top of each other, some were even upside down. 

The common denominator of these scary posters was a Skrull-face, with its red eyes gleaming up at the observer. Beneath the image, a text printed in a bold red stood out. ‘Know your enemy, it could be you’.

Another recurring motif was a force called ‘the Accusers’. Their redundant posters, copy after copy, seemed too repetitive. She noticed a old-looking man some distance away. He stumbled around spreading the same message as she had already read on the posters. When he caught sight of her, he approached her, his every second step limp. 

“Know your enemy. It could be you”, he said accusingly, jabbing a finger in Vers’ direction. 

“Me?”, she stated flatly, “The enemy?”. She narrowed her eyes, not breaking their eye contact. How did he have the audacity to fling out such a bold claim? Was this some kind of personal attack or something? She put on an air of fearlessness, showing him that she wasn’t faced with his words. 

“You might need to look twice.”, she told him. “Down to the two of us, I’m not the enemy”. She wouldn’t have it that a stranger accused her for being connive with the enemy.

Vers hadn’t expected his reaction, he didn’t seem affected by her refutation. If not, it was quite the opposite. He only seemed more interested, and there was a new gleam in his eyes. “You are either very strong… or foolish”, he remarked. “I like that. The boldness. You should join forces with the Accusers. They have great use of the likes of you”. 

Vers looked daggers at him. The Accusers was unfamiliar on her tongue, she had spotted the name just recently on several posters. Before she had time to shoot back a retort, a cold voice cut in. 

"No, she’s not interested". 

Yon-Rogg was now at her side, his sudden appearance startling her. The guy also seemed taken aback by his sudden appearance, but he quickly recovered, and turned his attention back on Vers.

“I see... You are already in for a career in the military”. He quickly glanced over to Yon-Rogg, but his gaze instantly darted back on Vers. 

"Take an advice from someone who knows. Join Ronan, the name is Ronan. He truly is effective. Admirable the Accusers are. Indeed, join the Accusers”, he laughed vilely. 

The situation was making Vers uneasy, to say the least. There was something in the way the stranger behaved, that made him appear hostile. She was more than grateful when Yon-Rogg tugged at her arm, dragging her away from the alleyway.

“Who are they?”, she asked after a while. “The Accusers, Ronan, I mean”. 

“They are a military unit, acting as the main force when we need the military” Yon-Rogg’s expression got more stern, as he continued. “Their leader is Ronan, ‘the Accuser’. He has numerous soldiers under his command. Unfortunately for them, only few of them will ever be regarded as more than foot soldiers.”

They continued their journey in silence.

*****

At long last, they faced their destination. 

The great hall was a long rectangular building with a very high ceiling. On the outside, the walls had great arched windows, stained with cyan coloring. In the center of the facade, there was the star of Hala, which emitted artificial light in a bright dazzle, adding to the celebration of light.

They stood at the foot of the hall, with only a couple of stairs still separating them from the ruler of the Kree empire.

Vers was stunned by the beauty of the temple. This place was greater than anything she had seen so far. This was impressive, the halls spoke volumes about the empire’s prosperity. 

“I will meet the Supremor first. You stay here and wait until you're called”. He gave her one last look over his shoulder before he ascended the stairs.


	6. Beware of what you say, and say what you beware of.

It's interesting how fast time flies when you're turning over thought after thought.

After Vers had been left to wait for her turn to meet the Supremor, she had tried to organize her thoughts like she had been taught to do. She managed to achieve something that resembled meditation. But in her case, something closer to stillness of the mind.

“Focused mind power is one of the strongest forces in the universe”, he had once told her. There was a certain wisdom to her mentor's words. Admittedly, she did not fully agree with him. She liked to be open-minded, to leave room for perceptions. 

Maybe it rang true that emotions clouded the mind, the most recent example being the little adventure of hers. She had been absorbed by joy, acting according to what she had felt in that particular moment. Somewhere along the way, a few common manners might have been overlooked, resulting in her almost ending up being pointed out as an imposter. Okay. Maybe there were some regrets there. She could very well have passed some of the rushed decisions, however, it’s easy to be wise in hindsight. If she hadn’t done what she did, she wouldn’t have felt so alive. 

This time though, she would be prepared. She looked forward to meeting the divine element. The curiosity for who she would see was growing stronger by every passing minute. She was only moments away. 

Surprisingly soon, Yon-Rogg was back from his meeting.

He met her eyes and gave her a nod. Vers started to climb the staircase. She had just passed him, when a glimpse of a thought hit her. Had that been conflict on his face?

*****  
Next thing she knew, she was standing next to a differently colored tile on the floor. As her feet made contact with the translucent surface, tendrils of blue cords emerged from the pad, wrapping around her ankles and climbing their way to her forehead. She closed her eyes just in time as the synapses made contact with her forehead. 

*****

Vers blinked up to see that the world has somehow shifted. It was like she had been transported to another dimension. She found herself under an open, yet closed, sky. Light filtered through from gaps randomly scattered in the ceiling. Looking around, she noticed that she seemed to be alone. 

_Where is this place? Is it real life or just fantasy?_

She turned around and took slowly in the surroundings. What astounded her the most was that there was no horizon in sight; no line at which the ground surface and the sky appear to meet. This landscape looked so calm, so serene. 

_Can I stay here forever?_

"Vers", a voice sounded. It came from somewhere, yet from everywhere. A person was waiting a distance away. 

Vers drew closer towards the figure. And as she walked, she realized the floor was actually a blank sea surface. Wherever her feet were about to touch the surface, tiles would suddenly materialize, momentarily covering the silver sheet of water. She was now close enough to make out the appearance of the mysterious person. It was a woman. She looked old, but she looked like she had aged well in every possible way. Her hair was a soft silver color with a few platina strands. Wisdom shone in her clear blue eyes. She looked wise. Almost like a sage. 

She wore a uniform in the standard Kree colors, and from the many silver stripes running down her shoulders, Vers could deduce this person had had a high ranking. 

She was looking at somebody that she used to know. Somebody she used to look up to. There was a painful familiarity to this stranger but nothing her mind could grasp. The knowledge tugged at her heartstrings. Who had this woman been to her? A former commander of hers? A mother figure? A friend? Vers tried once again to remember, to clutch at whatever straws which existed in her head. But nothing. It all came out blank. 

The woman in question tilted her head to the side, her kind eyes blazing back, as if to hearten Vers to get her ponderings voiced. Vers hesitated, as she didn’t know how to voice her inner thoughts. Maybe just put it as it was. 

“You’re supposed to take the form of who I used to admire, but I can't even remember who this person was to me”

The woman’s face twitched, and through her demeanor, Vers could see compassion shining through. There was at the same time something distancing in the voice when it spoke up.

“Perhaps this is a mercy. Sparing you from a deeper pain.” 

There was something more to those concise words, something cryptic, which made Vers wonder what the S.I. meant. Could the Supremor shed light on her past? Tell what had happened to the two of them.

“Did you know my past self?”, she asked, hope in her voice. She looked fiercely at the Supreme, not succeeding in hiding the extent to which she was dreading the answer.

The woman shook her head patiently. “You are just one victim of the Skrull expansion that has threatened our civilization for centuries". 

The answer wasn't what she had hoped for, it wasn’t extensive. Vers clicked her teeth in dissatisfaction. Of course, the action didn't go unnoticed by the Intelligence.

“You struggle with your emotions, with your past, what fuels them”. She said, giving Vers a lingering look, as to remind her of why she had been summoned. “Focused mind power is one of the greatest assets. Don’t let your past cloud you”, she stated, eyes held tightly on her subject. After a moment, her expression softened, and it even appeared gentle.

“But I do not wish to speak about the past. It is your future I am interested in”. In response to her words, the calm sea surface got disturbed as ripples and waves lapped forwards. 

Vers watched with fascination as shapes arose from the water. The water mass took the form of a great legion of warriors who stood under banners of a eight pointed star. Never had Vers seen so many soldiers assembled in this way. They looked assertive and focused, it was if they were waiting for someone. 

“Who are they?”, she asked.

“They are your followers, Vers. If you wish them to be”. 

“Mine?”. Suddenly she was afraid.

"Yes, my dear. Yours”. The voice was compelling. 

Suddenly, she found herself standing among the huge army of green clad warriors. 

There was a change in atmosphere, because as if on cue, the soldiers got up and fell in line in one synchronized movement. Their attention turned to what now resembled the centre of the scenery. 

“What are they going to do?”, she whispered. 

The woman stayed silent but nodded ever so slightly towards the middle of the crowd. In lack of an answer, Vers was absorbed back to the scene. Now she could make out what had caught everyone’s attention. A company had appeared, their highly detailed uniforms standing out from the mass. The way they held themselves, all dignified, made it clear that they were of high status. The company came to a halt, and a sole figure stepped forwards.

The leader spoke and Vers recognized the voice. For it was her own, although different somehow. Stronger, firmer. 

“Longer. Stronger. Superior”, her voice sounded.

The army cheered at her opening words. As the leader removed her helm, blond hair fell loosely about her shoulders. 

Vers gasped in amazement, for it was her- but many years older- who led the many hundreds of men. Not much had changed in her appearance, if not her eyes. They were more intense in color, the browns now flecked with deeper gold. 

“For the good of all Kree”, her older self exclaimed, and to Vers’ ears there was a confidence in her words.

“For the good of all Kree!”, the mass echoed. And after a couple of heartbeats, the vision, along with the exited buzzing, faded out.

Vers felt taken aback, and she had to blink a couple of times to take in what had happened. If this would have been a normal dream -one that she would have wished for instead of her recurring nightmares for a change- she would have felt happy over the experience. Happy for being included and part of such a great troop. But instead, she felt… afraid. Why didn’t she feel honored? The main feeling that surfaced was not pride. It was worry. 

“Is this the future?”, she asked. 

“It is only one of many possibilities, Vers”, the reply came. 

She fell silent. This felt a bit too sudden. She had never imagined ending up as a general in the future. She hadn’t planned that far. The thought of all the responsibilities made her feel slightly uneasy.

“Imagine the powers you could wield. We could put an end to all these infiltrations, an end to the resistance which leads to suffering”.

Vers lowered her head in thought, no longer sure about the vision. Maybe one day things would fall into place, but at the moment, she found it hard to comprehend what the future had in store. She liked to take the day as it came, not really being the one to plan ahead or to set things in stone. Her uncertainty must have shone through, because the woman put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You will soon enough find your place among us”. Her grip tightened on her shoulder. ”Your commander insists you're fit to serve"

Vers looked up. “I am.” 

The Supreme Intelligence moved to grasp Vers’ hand. When their hands met, they both started to glow a pale blue color. Electric current amassed at Vers’ feet, and she felt herself absorbing the powers. It coursed through her body and highlighted her already blue veins. The glowing faded away.

“What did you do?”. Vers’ hand instinctively went to touch the base of her neck—ghosting over her photon battery. 

"I increased your power cap. You will soon have need of my strength.” 

“Use them wisely..." The woman took a step back, all while her gaze grew cooler. 

“-for remember; what has been given, can be taken away.”

“I won’t fail you”, Vers found herself insisting. 

“We will see soon enough. I have a mission for you”.

*****

The Docking-tower’s interior was enormous, with its translucent self-illuminating glass panels adding to the effect. 

The five Starforce members stalked forwards, heading for the hangar. They walked in a neat V formation. In the peak of the formation, Korath led them. He was, after all, the second-in-command. On his left side, walked Bron-Char - who she had dubbed Blue giant- and next to him walked Att-Lass. Minn-Erva flanked Korath’s right side. Vers had somehow ended up in the right outermost position, next to Minn-Erva. She didn’t mind having the outermost spot. This gave her an opportunity to follow the others up close. 

This would be her first mission, what she had been training for. Vers was thrilled. Long had she awaited to finally see the elite in action, and to one day join them. Up to this point, she had only seen them while training. Now she would get to experience their cool attitudes.

She took in their appearances as they walked in front of her. Starforce were the elites. They were all specialist in their range of combat. She noticed that each of them was carrying their weapons of choice: twin pistols, a pair of energy swords and rifles. She felt confidence filling her as she followed the lead. Even though she was all empty handed, she felt more empowered than ever. She had her fists. With them, she could bring out her hidden photon powers, now more powerful thanks to her recent visit to the Supremor. 

Yon-Rogg wasn’t walking alongside them. Korath had said that he was aligning his plans with the other team, the Accusers. Supposedly, their unit was to cooperate with them, as they both had missions assigned on the same planet. The Starforce’s task being a rescue mission, and the Accuser’s goal being a suspected Skrull stronghold on Torfa. 

Their group stopped a distance away. From there, Vers could see that their commander wasn’t finished discussing with the leader of the Accusers. She looked down on her feet and noticed that she was standing a tiny distance ahead of their perfect formation. She surreptitiously slid back a step. “There”, she thought, and looked up. And that was when she saw it. 

The blue - a luminous glow- radiant against the panels of green - the same sort of teal green as the colors on her own suit, if not, a more metallic sheen; the high-gloss surface shining like polished metal in the shimmering light. 

The whole appearance whispered warnings of foreign danger; an alien promise inviting adventures.

This was way greater than any poster could ever hope to depict. No picture she had ever come across could do any justice. Her breath caught in her throat. 

  
  


The Helion. 

Helion was one of the most advanced crafts far and wide. According to the rumors, it was supposed to be the fastest of them all, praised as the starship of all starships. More often than not, she would stand by her window, her eyes searching for the familiar dot in the skyline. Watching as Starforce took to the skies. She had never seen the ship this close. 

During the past years she had spent training, she had had an opportunity to train her skills in maneuvering different spacecrafts. But big spaceships like this one had never come into question. Not to speak of advanced spacecrafts like the Helion. 

Vers had turned out to be a natural talent when it came to spacecrafts. Helion would be awesome to maneuver. Definitely a completely different experience.  
_  
Could she perhaps rent it for a ride? No better, could she buy it? Or no, perhaps not. Dumb question. Hmmm, out of the six of them, who would have the honor to fly this beauty?_

_Could she take it out for a spin? A spin? No, she meant an excursion. Or maybe not an excursion, but...what was it called again?_

_‘A joyride’, a voice in her head chirped helpfully._

****  
The waiting allowed Minn-Erva to go through the situation once more. They would have a co-ordinated mission on Torfa with the Accusers. And this time, they would have one extra addition to the team, as Vers would join them. She casually turned her gaze to her, to read how she seemed. Maybe she would hide behind a mask of commitment. When she viewed the new member, it didn’t match her anticipation. Vers wasn’t standing there with a stern expression on her face. Quite the contrary, she looked...like she was dreaming away. 

What had caught Vers’ attention? To do one better: what had made her pupils dilate to that impossible size? It was hard to tell, especially the way her eye movements flickered. 

What was so endlessly fascinating? Minn-Erva tried to follow her gaze. She scrunched up her eyebrows. Ronan? Hope not. 

Vers’ eye movements drew some kind of triangle. And mind you, not the type of perfect and stable triangle with all its angles congruent and even. No, this triangle was irregular; it seemed to be at random. First, Vers’ gaze would dart back and forth, circling somewhere near the two commanders. Then, it would hover a few paces over them, before sliding a bit skywards. And lastly, her gaze would land back on the duo. 

Minn-Erva thought back at the snippet of random sentences Vers had sang the other night. ‘Only happy when it rains’. If she indeed followed that pattern, it should be easy to read her mood. Apparently, she was something else than happy, because it wasn’t raining. So, what was the emotion and reason this time? Only upbeat when...? She fought back the instinct to rub her temples. Gods, just make up your mind already. 

If only those pupils could return to normal size. It would help her not to look like some gullible new scout wearing her heart on her sleeve. She had to save her from that risk. 

“Thank me later”, she thought, as she discreetly stepped on Vers’ foot.

******

Vers snapped back from her thinking. 

_Oh right. Where were they again?_

She focused her gaze just in time to see Yon-Rogg and Ronan finish up their talk. With the coordination of their plans rounded up, it was time for them to join in for a mission briefing. And so, Vers stalked forwards, causing Starforce to fall in behind her.

****  
“Our forces will bomb a Skrull stronghold in the South”, Ronan concluded, marking out a territory on a map of the Torfan planet. 

Yon-Rogg took over, unveiling the plan he had designed for the six of them. “We slip in, we locate Soh-Larr and we get out, leaving them without a noise”.

Their tactics were like night and day. And the more Vers thought about it, it all made sense. The brighter the light the darker the shadow. It sounded logical, but who was she to know, she was no strategist. She watched as the red spots on the map grew bigger. They should by all means avoid the southern parts.


	7. Not my style

“Definitely not. Try again”. 

With a blue holographic glow, the helmet dematerialized into pixelated light. 

Vers took a moment to collect herself before trying again. She concentrated her mind on the task and urged the helmet to appear, seemingly from thin air. Strands of hair were once again pulled back in a somewhat forceful manner, and she slightly clenched her teeth at the discomfort. Like all her previous tries, the result turned out exactly the same way.

“It’s not my doing”, she insisted, now for the sixth time.

Att-Lass crossed his arms and looked unconvinced. He was in the midst of giving Vers a walkthrough of the Starforce suit, since she hadn't fully completed all the lessons. The helmet and energy mask generation were broadly the last part of the training. And supposedly, the part which should've been most easy. But apparently not.

The reason for this tiresome bickering was her helmet, or not the helmet per se, because it looked flawless in every way. The reason was rather the very conspicuous detail on top of her head. To narrow it down further, the new hairstyle she always seemed to acquire in the process. 

All of her blonde locks had been forced into a mohawk 

-Into a very fabulous one. 

From what Vers could understand from his explanation, her hair was supposed to lie flat against her neck -not exposed as a strip of upright hair. The outcome she arrived at didn’t make any sense, taking into consideration that the volume of her hair wasn’t that great - her hair barely reached beyond her shoulders. She didn’t know where she went wrong. The equipment could be summoned either by mind power or manually. And each time, regardless of the way she activated the helmet, the result turned out in the same way. A fabulous mohawk. 

She was okay with it. Liked it even. To her disadvantage, she appeared to be the only one on the ‘yes’ side. Judging from the looks she received from her teammates, they didn’t find the detail especially acceptable. The room was filled with various degrees of facial expressions, everything from amusement to badly hidden disgrace. Most of them seemed to find her new look eccentric, while Korath and Bron-Char seemed to represent the ‘this is absurd’-opinion. 

Vers was growing frustrated by all the tries. To be frank, she found nothing wrong with the hairstyle. It was impressive in every way; a proper reflection of how badass she felt. 

“Can’t I just keep it?”. 

She received no nods of approval, nor any thumbs up. Anyhow, she didn’t receive any headshakes of denial for that matter. Simply nothing, which added to her frustration. What was the others waiting for? She fixed her eyes on Att-Lass. It was he who’d at first hand make the decision. Despite her directed question, he remained silent with a neutral expression. She didn’t quite understand the reason. Maybe he simply didn’t like to repeat himself? He had, after all, said no to her earlier. In the lack of a clear confirmation, she turned to Yon-Rogg in hope. He hadn’t yet voiced or, indeed, shown his opinion. 

“I can keep it, right?”

Up until now, he had observed her helmet-issue from the side, but now with her request, he stepped up to inspect for flaws in the helmet’s build-up. Vers let him trace the seams of her helmet, following it down to her neck. He tilted her head as he inspected the helmet from different angles. The seconds passed very slowly.

“Turn your head”, he said and nodded once to her right.

Vers complied and let her gaze rest on the opposite wall. She felt a slight pressure on her head, and with that a holographic preglow formed over her chin, providing her with a energy mask. Another hand movement and she observed how her helmet shrunk down, dematerialized into pixelated blue light. In the next second, the same blue light wrapped around her head, and the visor was back up. Yon-Rogg examined it carefully, making sure there were no abnormalities there.

Much like he had expected, he found no deficits in the structure. The energy mask was indeed intact, among all the other functions. As far as he deemed, the matter only went as far as being cosmetic. 

“It’s all in order. You can use it.”

*****

With the small event of disagreement out of the way, the six of them resumed what they had been doing. Vers had headed for the front of the ship, more specifically, to the bridge. There she settled to just silently observe, or in her case, to admire the command deck. Her eyes slid over the dashboard with the many readouts and indicators - fewer than she’d expected- but still enough to impress her. The interior of the Helion was pretty much like everything she’d daydreamed about. A complicated yet minimalistic look. 

After a moment of wandering back and forth, a moment of making mental notes of the command system for future occasions and receiving a couple of 'get a grip' looks, she finally came to a stop by a digital display. A map of the galaxy had drawn her attention. Scrolling through the data system, she noticed that some of the celestial bodies in the current solar system had more complex names than others. Looking closer, they were named in a systematic way. Each planet was marked with a long combo of letters and numbers -coordinates, she concluded. On another panel, it read P137 T55412AS+COO876. By planet P137, it obviously meant Torfa, since it was set as their destination. 

With the coordinates from the system, she searched the database for information of said planet. A double click on a screen pulled up a stream of images. There was nothing extraordinary about Torfa, except some valuable mining resources here and there. Apart from that little detail, the planet seemed dull and empty. Vers continued her idle research. The next twenty images showed sandy dunes and a low, but never-ending, mountain range. Few, if any vegetation was in sight. In conclusion, the planet was mostly all about small rocks and sandy dunes. How thrilling... What was the average length of a mission again? 

Vers turned to Korath. “So..” she started, “What is the average length of a mission?” 

Korath didn’t turn out to be an especially talkative person, because all she received was a very concise answer. “Hard to say”. And after a moment he added, “Depends on difficulty”, probably because his first answer didn’t seem to satisfy her. 

“Okay... And what about the fastest time? Any official records?”

“Three minutes.” 

“Not bad”, she remarked, if not a little bit impressed. She didn’t have time to conjure up more questions as they were all summoned to an overhaul of the plans. 

*****

“We’ll trace back to the location from where the distress signal was sent”. 

Yon-Rogg held up his wrist as a digital screen sprung up. “This tracker will pinpoint the approximate location of Soh-Larr and should therefore only be used as a rough navigation system".

“The landscape will be challenging, but nothing that should be a hindrance for us”. His gaze wandered over the semicircle of people in front of him. ”Don’t take any unnecessary risks”. His gaze came to rest on Vers, and they locked eyes with each other. The timing made his statement appear to be solely directed at her, and Vers felt herself obliged to answer something. 

“Going solo isn’t my style”, she shot back. 

Her reply obviously had a rather poor wording, and the accuracy of the statement wasn’t the only thing adding to that fact. The second the word ‘style’ had left her mouth, all eyes were immediately drawn to her hair, even when she was wearing her hair down, not in the rebellious mohawk. And instead of reassured expressions, they looked sceptic. Disbelieving. 

"Really, it's not", she insisted. Because honestly, what made him think she was going to do something reckless?

*****

The walkthrough didn’t last long, and the moment their meeting had ended, Vers had retreated to the front of the ship. There, she had settled to stare through a panoramic window, silently taking in the vastness of space. Torfa grew in size as they approached their destination. The planet was now close enough for her to make out the colour of its surface. The surface was grey. She slumped her shoulders ever so slightly at the detail. A part of her had hoped this planet would’ve been the same planet as she the one she’d seen in her latest dream. More details became discernible, and they all crushed that possibility. Torfa had five moons orbiting around it. The planet in her dreams had only had one. One single moon. She trained her eyes on the edge of the planet. This planet also looked less aesthetic. A hefty amount of dust and debris hung like a thick veil over Torfa. 

All of a sudden, the skyline lit up in fiery reds, before reverting back to dull grey colours. And a few seconds later, distant thunder sounded. Or was it something else? 

Vers had always felt a deep connection with light, the concept of the speed of light to be precise. There was something fascinating in the way the sound always lagged behind the light by a few seconds. Another wave of light crimson lit up the far side of the planet, and the change in colour was soon followed by a faint rumble. For some reason, she guessed she was looking at the southern part of Torfa. 

She stood silent and watched as the many shades of red turned to a purple haze, only to fade to a satin peach a scarce moment later. She couldn't help but to compare the scene with the glorious sunsets she'd witnessed on Hala. This was equally beautiful to watch, but in this context, it felt so wrong. She was looking at an inhabited place being assaulted. Razed. Suddenly, she was no longer sad that this planet wasn't the same as the one in her dreams. Grateful even. Because she didn't know how she would've reacted if it had been. A quick glance at her hands gave away the answer. 

A tangerine glow had spread across her upper forearms, starting from her fingertips and climbing just below her elbows. She clenched her teeth at the unwelcome surge of power. _Not now._ Her photon powers couldn't change what was going on in the distance. It was to no use. _'Back. Disappear back',_ she thought resolutely. Ever so slowly, the discoloration sunk back into her skin, but most parts of her wrists down to fingertips remained unchanged.

_I have no connections to that place, I shouldn't care._

_It's a hideout of my enemies._ More of the discoloration faded away, but the brightest parts still lingered; the power concentration around her fists. _'It's a hideout of my enemies'_ , she repeated. She clasped her hands together, took in a deep breath, before disentangling her fingers again. Despite her best self assurance, the threatening glow still didn't go away. It was if it insisted on staying, a silent protest which had risen to the surface. Noble warrior heroes. Why didn't it simply fade away? 

_'Please?'_ , she tried. A faint waver in brightness washed over her skin before the last traces of cosmic powers retreated beneath her skin. Vers turned around just in time to get updated on of the time schedule. 

“Vers, take position. We’re nearing-”

It was finally happening. She took in a long breath of excitement before she let a blueish hexagonal pattern cover her head. The situation would soon change dramatically, and the helmet and energy mask would be essential. She made her way to join the others. 

It was hard to comprehend she’d made it this far. She was standing among the elites, standing next to Yon-Rogg. Six years could feel like a long, long time, but now, she was to become the Kree warrior she was meant to be. 

Fifteen...fourteen… She counted down the remaining seconds, and after every ten passing seconds, she repeated the parameters of the mission in her head. 

nine...eight...seven…

Just as she reached zero, the Helion did a steep nose-dive descend, and dove into inky black water. Disappearing into depths unknown. 

*****

Ever so silently, the figures slipped out of the water, the surface tension breaking as they rose. The Starforce members scanned their surroundings and Vers followed their lead, also doing a quick once-over of the new scenery. She saw pretty much the same elements as she had expected there to be: sand with a slight blueish tint and small stones scattered here and there. 

However, there was an obvious deviant detail. This region looked more rocky. It appeared more challenging, because the landscape changed drastically some twenty meters ahead. The low cliffs were gradually replaced by massive geological formations silhouetted against a grey sky. A mountain pass. It made it all more interesting.

Minn-Erva and Att-Lass were the first ones to make their way forward, as it was in their task to scout the region. Two more of the members took up the trail, the both of them going in the tracker’s direction. Vers should keep a close radius to the front row if she wanted to have a significant part of the mission. She was just about to follow the others when she had to stop in her tracks. Yon-Rogg had called her name. 

"Wait".

What now?, she thought as he made his way to stand in front of her. 

"Your left hand".

"What?", she asked, not really understanding what he meant by those words. Had she forgotten something?

Instead of replying, he just took her wrist in his hands and turned it over. He inspected her wrist, his eyes searching for something. After a few heartbeats, his thumb brushed over a spot on her wrist. Vers tensed up. "What are you doing?". She looked down at where his hand met hers and noticed that a color palette had popped up. This was new. She was pretty sure she hadn’t come across this detail.

A focused expression was set on his face as he looked up over her shoulder, presumably scanning their surroundings. He then once again looked down and traced a pattern on her wrist. He let go of her hand as a shiver cascaded through her, starting from her left wrist and travelled to the opposite side. The colors of her Starforce suit dulled as the pixels of her suit changed their wavelengths.

He stepped back to admire his work: the new grey and brown colors blended in well with the cliffs and the dull blue tones blended into the ground with almost perfect camouflage. This would be more suitable colors if she managed to get into trouble.

"Wait. Are these camouflage colors?”, Vers frowned as she noticed the change. The suit’s trademark look was gone, its once proud colors now dimmed to more earthy tones. She was like a walking reflection of the background. 

“I want you to stay in the background”.

Vers waited for a further explanation, but he stayed silent, just looking back at her, but not directly in her eyes. In the lack of an answer, she thought hard about the reasons. Why only her? Why did he let the others, including himself, wear the trademark colors? Then a realization dawned on her. 

“The Supremor said you thought me ready”. Her eyes grew distant. “Was that untrue?”

“Vers, you’re ready, you’re here”. The tone in his voice brooked no argument. ”Just try to fall in line”. He then turned to walk away, leaving her with no other option than to follow him. 

*****

Vers followed him as they made their way to catch up with the others. He would join Bron-Char and Korath to make up the first row, while she was to stay back with Minn-Erva and Att-Lass. In her words, pretty much stay behind and wait at the lookout. 

She didn’t know what to feel. One the one hand it was a considerate gesture of him to change her colors to the range of cryptic coloration. An act of caring perhaps. But on the other hand...

In the end, he was always right. Or was he? She shouldn’t doubt his decision, his skill to make a judgement of the situation. He was the commander, not she. Doubt only made her vulnerable. And wasn't this the very picture of vulnerability? Half leaning against a rock, struggling with herself as the distance between her and the team only grew bigger and bigger. 

His choice of words hadn't helped either. Did he, or didn’t he believe in her capabilities? She was gifted with superpowers from the Supremor itself. She had trained six years - not five years like all the other apprentices. All because he’d insisted on one additional year. One extra year. 

And back to his words. "Stay in the background" he’d said. To her, it sounded as a very complex order. The way she saw it, he’d first made her special, made her stand out from the rest of the team, only to then tell her to stay away from all the action and adventure. _You lift me up just to bring me down._ Didn’t he know how much this mission meant to her? It’s importance in her life? She really didn’t want to wear different colors than the rest of the team. She wanted to wear the colors of the elites. She drew in a long sigh. It was decided then. Now, how to get back the right colours? 

The faint touch of his hand still lingered in her mind. She tried to mirror what he had done and traced a crescent on the wrist. A colorful palette popped up - a good start. Now, what next? She stared down at the random dots of color, and it occurred to her, she didn’t really know what spot matched what part of the suit. _‘Trial and error’_ , she shrugged. It couldn’t be that hard. She tapped a spot what seemed to be a good try. But her try turned out to be a total shot in the dark. 

Bright neon colors appeared in a dazzling flash, their luminescent appearance painting a great contrast against the suit’s dark primaries. ‘Ouch’, she thought as she tried to shield her eyes from the dazzle. The lime green and electric pink stripes stood out in greatest brilliance in the barren landscape. And it didn’t take much grey matter to realize that it wasn’t the smartest thing to wear out here. Still, the fluorescent colorants could be very handy sometime. Back home for example, on Hala, it could most likely offer ample disguise. Or at least, make any celebration a thousand times more awesome.

She tried again and swept her fingers in a figure eight. The result was a step in the right direction, but not quite. The colors were nearly the same dull color as before. She tried other combinations, but didn’t seem to get the right hang of the tech. He’d made the color switch look so easy. But Vers wasn’t giving up. After a couple of tries, she finally came across a reset button. She watched with strange satisfaction as the standard colors crept over her body. ' _Back in the game'_ , she thought smugly.

Now lagging behind, she hurried to catch up with her team. 

*****

Crouching near a large rocky outcropping, Yon-Rogg waited for the others to catch up. Hopefully Vers took his advice and remained a distance from the first line. Knowing Vers, it wasn’t anything she would do voluntarily. The color change had been necessary. If she wouldn’t stay in the background, he could always make her blend in better with the background.

When it came to Vers, you always had to think twice before acting. She had a habit of misinterpreting meanings behind words. No matter how literal and straight-forward he articulated his thoughts, she always seemed to understand them wrong. He had to confess their recent talk hadn't gone so smooth as he had hoped for. It wouldn't surprise him if she thought that he’d meant he wanted her out of his sight. Become, and stay, as a part of the background. And that reminded him, why was he thinking about her? At this critical time? 

A small burst of static crackled in his ear, followed with the line, “Locals on the periphery. Maybe a dozen”. Another burst of static sounded as Att-Lass made his deduction. “Locals, not sure if they are locals”. The audio crackled once again, and the disturbance in comms didn’t go unnoticed by him. ‘ _Transmission error? From what?’._ It wasn’t an unfamiliar happening, but the interference didn’t usually reach to this extent. According to the known intelligence, there shouldn’t be anything of concern on Torfa that should be able to interfere with their tech. Best to stay cautious. 

“We keep a close radius. If we lose comms, we meet back at the Helion", he called. 

*****

The way ahead did not remarkably improve as they neared the location from where the distress signal had supposedly been sent from. On the contrary, the mountain pass seemed to grow more unfavorable as the edges of scattered rocks grew more pointy. More inhospitable. Yon-Rogg stopped, feeling the adverse change in landscape. He’d learned to have an eye for certain details; the eroded cliff face, the withdrawn locals. And not to be overlooked, to also have an eye for details which were missing.

Something was off. Very off. 

He hadn’t been promoted to commander of Starforce, if he hadn’t learned from past mistakes. It was essential to sense potential dangers before they occurred. And this was one of those moments, it had all the common features of trouble. The others seemed to be in for the same line of thoughts. Right at the corner of his eye, he could see that the Korath and Bron-Char were also being observant, which usually meant he had all the rights to feel cautious. It would be pretty much stating the obvious, but it was part of his duty after all. 

“Only one way in, and only one way out”. A short moment passed before he voiced his much-dreaded thought. “Perfect place for an ambush.”

A fleeting moment was all it took before his pessimistic prediction turned to prophecy. A tell-tale whining whistle cut through the air.

“Down!”, he barked, as he ducked out of the trajectory of a blast. Without warning, a burst of energy flew past his shoulder, close enough to singe his hair. From the corner of his eye, he saw the others dive for cover. 

*****

Where had the others disappeared? Pulling up her wrist, Vers checked the mapping signal. 

“What?” 

The entire screen had turned into a rippling mess. It now looked like a digital sandstorm. But why? It had worked only moments ago. She knew it had. She’d checked it for direction and the dart had been pointing straight ahead. 

Maybe sand particles had managed to get stuck and caused a short-circuit, or something, made it loose connection? Vers furrowed her brows. Who was she to know? She wasn’t an engineer, far from it. She tapped the screen a couple of times and checked it once again. The same vibrating random black-and-white dots filled the screen. Vers was unlucky when it came to electronics. This just proved it in spades. 

“C'mon!”, she urged and tapped, or more like hit, the electronics on her sleeve with an unnecessary force. To her surprise, the hit worked wonders. The screen flickered back to life, a faint message of ‘signal established’ crossing the display. An orange arrow was now pointing a couple of hundred meters in the south-east direction. 

“Huh. easy.”

Her action had unfortunately not fixed the bursts of static on the comm channel. Thinking about it, where had the others disappeared to? Was this an official retreat? Had they lost comms or not? Her eyes turned back on the arrow. Should she turn back? But she was almost there, it was just some hundred meters straight to her goal. No, she could do it. 

*****

Snippet of distant conversation hung in the air as she made her lonely way towards the goal. Vers had a universal translator implant, but what the locals muttered sounded like total gibberish to her ears. The registered speech was incoherent and disjointed, and not only from the distance. She couldn’t make out any intelligible words, the sounds closest to words were ‘pffh’ and ‘humph’. 

Was she born under an unlucky star or something? First the helmet, then the annoying burst of statics on the comms, the temporary glitch in the tracking device, and now her speech translator turned out to be unreliable. She resisted the urge to rub her temples. Could her misfortune just give her a break? Vers continued her trek with her ears pricked up. But what she heard next made her stop abruptly. 

Fool.

“What?”, she thought before her mind went momentarily blank. Had she actually heard someone call her a fool? 

She spun around, expecting a threatening face, but found none of the few locals paying her any attention. They just sat there unmoving and calm. Had she simply misheard? Perhaps someone had simply just said food? Most likely. After all, the words sounded a bit like each other. After brushing the mild apprehension away, she continued to follow the trail. 

They were a few campfires scattered about the place, their flames hinting to crevices in the mountain wall. A smell of roasted nuts and cut cacti floated in the air. The scent also had a faint metallic undertone to it. A subtle smell of iron. Like rusted iron. She didn’t know much about the place, but it was probably from all the minerals and ores buried in the soil. 

She snorted, feeling some sort of comic relief in the situation. So much misunderstandings, she shouldn’t feel so much on the edge. But one thing was clear. Somebody should really take their time to update the databases of the Torfan language. Seriously. Perhaps Soh-Larr had made a linguistic study? Three years was a long time after all. It was very much ample time for such things. Vers made a mental note to ask when she found him. 

The arrow continued to point forwards, and after a while of following its guidance, the pointing arrow disappeared. This could only mean that Soh-Larr should be somewhere near. She stopped and did a thorough scan of the scenery. There was a deep crevice forming a half-cave in the rock. Her eyes, fixed ahead of her, suddenly caught a familiar flickering in the fire light.

Was that…?, she squinted her eyes, ...Soh-Larr? Vers observed the shape before her carefully. Her gut feeling told her that something was amiss. 

She tried to compare him with her mental image. There were all the common features. As far as Kree went, he seemed no different from any other. He was of the average height and build for his race. He clearly looked like the image she’d seen of him. There were all the common features, except-

She gulped. 

This Soh-Larr looked like he had come back from the dead. 

The rational part of her mind was quick to the rescue and she willingly let a great many possible explanations cross her mind. Kree were known to have thick skin. They weren’t the first ones to complain about injuries. Soh-Larr wouldn’t have sent the distress signal if he didn’t deem the situation as critical; if he wasn't injured and needed to be retrieved. And the harsh campfire wasn’t helping the current situation at all, it only accentuated his injuries and added years to his weather-beaten face. 

That meant she was really right on time to bring him back home then. But before that: the identification code. She strained her memory to recall the right code and, after being sure-fire of the right combo, she looked him dead in the eye. 

"CTX78"

The reply came instantly. 

"TRT79XX"

A scarce second passed as she processed his answer. The code matched perfectly, and a shallow relief filled the back of her mind. This was the real Soh-Larr. She had found him. Their spy was safe and sound. His three years of intelligence wouldn’t be lost. She gave him a nod in approval. He rose to his feet and approached her. 

The shallow relief slowly flooded her senses. The difficult part of the mission was over, and now, the only thing remaining was the easy part. 

"Okay, hold up, I'm calling the others”. Vers fumbled with the comm device, but then remembered there was still the same troublesome interferences on the line. She gave a nervous half-smile and hoped her demeanor didn’t come across as unprofessional. At least, she knew her way back to the Helion. 

“Follow me". Soh-Larr gave her a sharp nod and Vers turned around to begin their trek back to the meeting point. She did not make it far. A sharp sting in her neck made her world fall into oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! They just recently released another deleted-scenes of Captain Marvel. I kinda understand why it didn't make it into the final script, but it's still kinda sad. There was an interesting addition to the characters.


	8. You better run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 7 was updated 23/5)

The strength of his legs was tested with every step he bore her forward. Loose sand shifted under the sole of his boots as he walked. The rocky terrain was unsteady at some points, and there was a small risk of the ground giving way and causing rocks to tumble into the pass below.

Baggy clothes draped the figure. The robes, typical for the climate, was commonly worn by Torfans. However, his appearance didn’t quite match the native population. Underneath a thin layer of dust and clothes, his skin shone a light blue color. 

He carried a weight of another over his shoulders, his strong arms held her tightly, as if in a promise not to let go. He was heading somewhere, his assertive steps leading away from the eye of the storm. Not long ago, a faint commotion had filled the air, and now, his every stride made the rumbling background sounds grow more distant. He continued his trek. 

Some way ahead in the distance, figures and a ship could be made out. As he got closer, it appeared that they were Skrulls, and some of them were holding spears in their hands. The tips of their weapons emitted a faint purple shine. 

The worn-out-looking Kree walked fearlessly towards them. His courage must have shone through, as they respectfully let him approach their ship. Looking closer, one could see that several other Skrulls, more dreadsome than the before mentioned, joined him as he made his way to encounter the waiting lot.

The man came to a halt in front of a Skrull, who supposedly was the leader of the awaiting crew. He received a curt nod of acknowledge but did not himself bother to return the gesture. Instead, he laid down the body with an audible ‘thud’. And as he dropped her down, the image of him being a hero fell with it. 

“The insider, as promised.” The self-confident figure stated. He pushed his shoulders back and started to adopt another shape. A muted light shimmered over his body as he inclined his head. When he looked back up, it was through a pair of purple eyes. 

Back in his own appearance, the general rolled over the body with a nudge of his boot. With that, her arm no longer covered the emblem embedded in the front, if it ever needed to. The silver-trimmed suit and the specific colors gave away her identity. 

Starforce.

*****

Talos’ eyes were drawn to the chosen one. 

Their feat was impressive. He was surprised that Dorrek and his subordinates' plan had worked. To him, it had seemed poorly planned.  A plan structured in a way which would lead to far-reaching consequences. His refugee camp in the south being one of the strongly affected ones. He desperately hoped that the advantages would weigh up the disadvantages in the end. But could it ever? 

Talos met the general's eyes. "I'll see what intelligence she holds". 

He turned to the two Skrulls standing behind him and motioned them to fetch the Kree. They obliged and scurried over to the spot, although not before giving a shallow bow of their heads. 

Talos was just about to turn around to go back inside the ship when he stopped. He noticed that the general didn’t seem to come along. What he could deduce from his body language, was that he had other intentions, if his away-leaning body posture was anything to go by. There must still be a matter he wanted to take care of. 

"I take you're not joining us?" He inquired. A change of plans was not overly unexpected. And not wholly unwelcome either, for the matter.

"No, Talos. I have what I wanted. Besides...”, Dorrek trailed off, his gaze tight. "You'll never guess who's decided to show their ugly face in the south". 

But it was easy. Talos did not need to guess for he knew the answer. It was, after all, not too hard to predict who would turn up. There was little variation in their tit for tat war. More often than not, like-minded people would crowd to sites of destruction. 

“I'm going to move my men to the south. You better start running", he chuckled, "As you always do". He then turned around and reached out his hand to one of his subordinates. Without delay, a horn was laid in his hands. A couple of long strides towards the mountain tops in the horizon, he filled his lungs and let his exhaled breath produce a clear tone through the signal instrument.

His eyes glistered coldly. "We'll surely cross paths again". The undertone was full of an unspoken promise. With those iconic words, he, and his men, left the scene.

Talos watched them leave, trying to get an overview of the situation.  “Was this your plan all along?”, he voiced to no one in particular. Dorrek had long ago disappeared from his view and the question was left hanging in the air. 

 

*****

Yon-Rogg spun around. The hammering in his chest made him overly aware of his heartbeat. Only moments ago, they had been in the eruption of a sudden ambush. And now, their attackers had slowly fallen back.

Now that the adrenaline rush had started to wear off, the pain started to make itself known.

He slightly clutched his arm. A blast had hit him at some point. Fortunately, the armour had absorbed the brunt of the blast, but the remaining impact was still strong enough to leave the affected spot feeling sore. 

What mattered, was that they had regain control of the situation. The enemy had started to fall back, to retreat, if that described the situation. He wasn’t sure of the reason. Not long ago, a signal had been heard. And it was most likely no coincidence that the retreat of their attackers had coincided with the audible signal.  

The question kept niggling in his mind. Why had their attackers fallen back? At first, they had nearly gotten the upper hand of the situation. And what's more, they had also clearly outnumbered his team, their count landing on ten or more. 

Did he and his elite force-sque group turn out to be too strong? Was it an unprofitable fight? Perhaps they had hoped to blind-side them at an early stage, but got proven wrong as his team had held their ground. 

Korath and Bron-Char flanked his side, still standing in defensive formation. The three of them stood close nearby to each other, deeming it was the best way to keep a lookout of possible directions of a new attack. They scanned the surroundings for any signs of return, despite that there did not seem to be an immediate threat anymore. 

Stillness had settled, and it was again as silent as during a normal evening for the planet. A light breeze was the only source of sound, as the wind swirled around rock formations, strong enough to produce a whistling sound but not strong enough to lift sand particles. The situation exuded calmness. And yet, an eerie feeling of calm before the storm loomed over them. 

A hefty amount of dust had swirled up in the air when he had toppled over a rock pile and it had fallen like an unsteady obelisk. It was a while ago, and most of the brown curtain had now started to descend to the ground. 

Just as it seemed that all the dust would finally settle, small rocks came tumbling down the slope, their sudden advance causing dust particles to yet again rise up in thick columns. Great.

The small-scale rockfall raised dust, along with Yon-Rogg’s suspicion. The falling rocks might have missed him by some ten meters, so they were no danger to him. Yet their descend seemed out of context. What’s more, a moment later, small pebbles started to slide down the slope. 

He slowly drew closer, as he simultaneously ran through some conceivable possibilities. The first thing that sprung to his mind happened to be the worst-case scenario. Was this a beginning of a rockfall? Their attackers had fallen back only moments ago, which got him wondering; was this their reason? He looked around quickly. But no, the terrain shouldn’t be favorable for such a phenomenon. A rockslide would not be possible here as the slope was not steep or unsteady enough to trigger an avalanche of debris.  

He did not discard that possibility fully, because he slid back his gun into its holster and in its place, he activated his other Magnitron gauntlet. It awakened with a buzz, and instantly started to emanate cyan light. The gauntlets’ gravity defying powers would be able to stall the falling boulders if it came to it, but he doubted he would have to use them. It would be much easier for them to just step away from the potential danger. 

A blueish glow illuminated his hands as he waited for what would happen next. Seconds stretched on. 

He had expected the first few rocks to be followed by additional rocks, but nothing alarming followed in their wake. Sand slid down harmlessly, as if someone was making their way down the escarpment. And it turned out he was right in his guess, because following shortly, two figures came into view as they slid down on a wave of sand. And a lot of pebbles.

It was Minn-Erva and Att-Lass, - or what looked like them. 

The duo landed steadily on their feet, their weapons drawn and pointing back on the three of them. Yon-Rogg and his two other teammates did neither drop their guard, as they were also mirroring the action. 

Under normal circumstances, this could have been a happy reunion. A reunion after a near fatal experience, after an ambush that had luckily only resulted in healable injuries.  But no happy emotions peeked through their guarded expressions. 

A tangible silence hung over the five of them, as they stood ready and alert.

When it came to missions involving Skrull sightings, it was not reassuring to see familiar faces. Not reassuring at all. As they all knew, surface appearances could be deceptive. The possibility always stayed, and you could never be too sure of the person standing in front of you. In this moment, you could point your weapon at your friend without feeling too much guilt afterwards. Nobody would take it personal because the imminent threat was way bigger than any of them. 

What complicated things further was that there existed no sure-fire way to easily find out the truth, that is, whether your ally was a Skrull or not. Yon-Rogg felt himself tense at this realization, his grip around the handgun growing stiffer by a fraction. But there were nearly perfect ways. 

Att-Lass was standing closest to him, so he turned his attention to him. 

“Verify, VYV40”, he spoke. 

He stayed attentive as he waited for the accurate counterpart; in this case, he waited for the combo that took into account that this planet had an uneven number of moons in its orbit.

“HTGV7411”

The concept of code tables was not unheard of among Kree units, but this particular set of codes were unique to his team. Exchanging codes was a routine they had went through many times before. Sometimes, he really had to give credits to his team for remembering every matching code by heart.

Occasionally, he would also ask questions, but it was when a single member of the team had gotten separated from the rest. It should not of course have an impact on their authentication system, nevertheless, it felt reassuring to do an extra check-up with tricky questions. 

This time he did not deem it necessary, as he knew that Minn-Erva and Att-Lass had without doubt already questioned each other. 

After having the identification process out of the way, his team traded observations with each other. There was alarmingly many elements of surprise that needed to be analyzed.  And communication was a suitable way to figure out what had transpired. 

They argued whether to continue the mission or not, and facts of what had recently transpired. The ambush had been at the same planned and ill-planned. On the one hand, it had been an excellent choice of location, but the teamwork on the other side had seemed unorganized. 

Yon-Rogg did absentmindedly a quick headcount. Att-Lass, Minn-Erva, Bron-Char, Korath and himself. They were all who they claimed to be. But there was something odd about the situation. Something lacking, though that something escaped his grasp. 

In the end, it was not the logical part of his brain who figured it out. It was the muscle beating between his ribs. His heart. 

It was missing a piece. And that piece looked like…

For three pounding heartbeats, the words made no sense. And then it was pitilessly clear. The ambush wasn't random. As if from a very long distance away, he heard his own voice saying, “Where’s Vers?”.

An air of silence settled like a heavy blanket, now more encroaching than ever. Tangible. His eyes traveled over the assembled group. Slow shakes of heads and downward glances met him. The moment when he waited for an answer felt like an eternity, but the the spell of timelessness was broken.  

"We-, I lost her”. Minn-Erva stepped forwards, head bowed apologetically and braced for a tirade. But it never came. Yon-Rogg stayed silent. 

“Vers, come in.” he repeated in the comms. The crackle and burst of static had disappeared. His only answer was more silence. 

“Vers!” With every unanswered call, his worry grew. 

The others were soon shaken out of their trance. Was this the optimal picture of the proverb ‘You don’t see it until it’s not there’? Maybe, maybe not.

“She was right behind us, but then disappeared the next moment”. And it was true, they had seen her just recently. And after her disappearance, they had made their way down the escarpment to report back. 

"Maybe she returned to our rendezvous point, I mean, back to the Helion?", Korath spoke, and Yon-Rogg nodded slowly along. It was wishful thinking, but also their best lead. There was still hope. 

“Alright. You two-”

He did not have time to finish his sentence as he got interrupted. Att-Lass eyes had caught something in the distance, and he had raised his hand to point. 

“Is that an incoming sandstorm?”

All ten eyes turned in the direction of his hand. Geysers of dust and sand had shot up a great distance away. What made the situation amiss, was that the immediate surrounding as of yet laid unaffected. This phenomenon just took off from the ground, swirling up debris in its wake, in its attempt to break through the atmosphere. And true enough, fairly high up in the sky, a huge shadow got silhouetted against the dark sky.

The team’s sniper did not need any prompting to try to distinguish the unidentified flying object. “It’s a ship”, she said, her eyes not leaving the sniper scope, “With an energy signal close to the one our attackers used”.

He got a bad feeling about this. A gut feeling which whispered the reason for Vers’ sudden disappearance. His stomach churned unpleasantly. 

She was abducted.


	9. A tale without a history

According to a saying, a picture tells more than a thousand words. And precisely words were what they were looking for. In the middle of the room sat a crystalline screen. Dozens of images would flash by every second thus creating a movie effect. The sheer amount of pictures should add up to a vast number of words, or so one would think. But this was not the case, quite the contrary. You did not need many words to summarize the scene; a single word was enough. 

What.

Talos was confused. Who was this person? What was going on? The more questions that emerged, the more his confusion grew. A glance at the others confirmed his thoughts: they were as much perplexed as him. His long years of experience in this practice had not prepared him for how this had played out. Memory-fracking was not a simple art, he had to admit. Nevertheless, this was not how it was supposed to look. The result usually followed a distinct pattern - and this was not the case. 

He gazed at the screen with rapt attention like he was peering into a crystal ball. And truth to be told, a crystal ball was almost accurate. The only difference was what the mythical ball and their extruded crystal would show you. Rather than showing the future, the crystal-like screen showed the past; what had been. And in Talos’ case it showed flashes of a life. 

His brows furrowed even further as he tried to rotate the image. A three-dimensional hologram stood before him. It was supposed to represent a collection of memories, keyword being ‘supposed to’. Instead of taking the form of a twisted spiral - starting off all thin only to widen at its top- it resembled a whirlwind. He squinted his eyes. A whirlwind of white smoke. Fog with some distinct parts at the very top of it. No matter what angle he observed the hologram from the produced pattern looked flawed. The memory fracking equipment was familiar to him but this was beyond his understanding. There was no denying that her memory’s timeline lacked a foundation.

Despite the total randomness, one thing was for sure. Taking the longevity of a Kree into consideration, this person had lived for a blink of an eye. 

They tried to make head and tail of that lead. Much to their delight her most recent memories seemed to be what could be termed normal. Following common analyzing procedures, they measured the timespan she had spent on Hala. Their guess landed on six years. 

Talos drew a short breath in anguish. Why did everything have to come down to the past six years? It was probably a mere coincidence but it reminded him nonetheless of _that _one day. Six years ago. That day should have been a day of celebration. Of joy. But fate did not have it. And so the fate of his family was unknown.__

__The flickering in the space pod grew more distant as his mind wandered off. But this was no time for brooding and so he turned back his attention to the screen._ _

__His team continued to skim through glimpses, most of which obviously did not hold much of interest. He observed how concentrated Norex was looking at the screen. He felt grateful towards him, he always did a great job. When making observations and taking notes, it was important to take into account that the factual accuracy of memories was precarious. A moment of diligence passed, and then, something extraordinary caught their eyes._ _

__“Wait. Freeze that image”. Talos stepped towards the screen. Pulses of blue light emitted from her hands, screaming power. Was this their new weapon? The one it’s been rumored about? His eyes tracked the swirling dynamics._ _

__“What’s that? Let’s trace that energy signal.”_ _

__Winding back her memories, they kept their eyes open in search for the extraordinary phenomenon. If they weren’t short on time, it would have been fascinating to follow a person’s development in reversed order. But now they really had to figure out how she had got her hands on those powers. Just as they got close to what could be interpreted as ‘the beginning’ of her training, the equipment made a huge time jump._ _

__The scenery changed rapidly and the unexpected glitch made them flinch. They had entered the unknown, sceneries changing rapidly and being out of context._ _

__“Damn. This must be the major diffuse part of what the hologram depicted.” the Skrull at the control panel deduced._ _

__“I fear so”, Talos breathed. He wasn’t crestfallen though, far from it, they would finish this. Contemplating, he looked at the display showing empty blanks and faint episodes. If they couldn’t navigate by the hologram anymore, they had to randomly pick a memory. It would be like navigating uncharted waters; more difficult to maneuver and a risk of overseeing crucial details. They better split up the tasks._ _

__“You two-”, he addressed two Skrulls opposite him, “Your assignment is to take us closer to the part just before her continuous memory begins". They nodded in response, turned to the hologram and dived into their task._ _

__“While we-”, he told the others as he made a gesture at the screen, “-we will scan through whatever we can find here”. What they faced was a trail of incoherent memories on the edge on her continuous memory. The analyzing turned out to be a finicky job, much jumping back and forth without being too hasty._ _

__They drew up a couple of cutscenes, most of which had to do with training in one way or another. In one sequence, she was up high, at least dozens meter above the ground. They watched how she tightly held onto a rope and was about to make a swing to the next one. With a great leap, she let go. Some of his fellows drew their breath_ _

__Before they could witness how her leap went another footage took its place._ _

__"I think I found it.”_ _

__The Skrull zoomed in on something that appeared to be of importance. This time she was soaring through the sky. She had evidently been a pilot. In the next clip she was down again and walking across a runway. She stopped after a few paces and absentmindedly scanned the horizon. The sequence skipped some ten seconds and in the next moment she hunched down with a smile on her lips._ _

__A flame-colored Flerken had appeared at her feet, its slitted eyes sparkling in the sunlight. Talos pricked up his ears and waited with bated breath for what would happen next. The seconds ticked on as the Flerken let itself be petted. And she petted it in a casual way like it was perfectly normal. And-_ _

__Talos let out with an irritated sigh. "Quiet down, the danger isn’t real"._ _

__The commotion of raised voices died down._ _

__Their frightened reaction was of course not unjustified but on the same time it did not improve the situation. As they all knew, a great danger lurked behind those chatoyant eyes. And a bit further down, where tips of teeth were visible, an entire universe was by all likelihood stoved away into its mouth._ _

__*****_ _

__

__“Goose likes you”._ _

__There was an odd familiarity to that voice. The vision was zoomed in on the owner of the voice and Talos winced when he recognized her. It was not a stranger. He knew that face. His world slowed down as a single word echoed in his head._ _

__Mar-Vell._ _

__The Kree they had stumbled upon had known Mar-Vell. What were the odds? Could the stars actually align? He grinned at the figure of speech, especially with a certain eight-pointed star in mind._ _

__The room had hushed itself into silence. Talos met Norex’s eyes. They were as wide as his own. “This is the closest lead we’ve ever come across.”_ _

__The new lead had ignited high expectations of her: Could she possibly know about the Skrulls Mar-Vell had hid away? Her lab? Its whereabouts? They strained their minds and stayed attentive for clues that could shed light on the truth. Who was she? An enemy of the enemy? Or a friend of a friend?_ _

__If she was allied with Mar-Vell, how had she managed to wind up fraternizing with the enemy? Allegedly Mar-Vell had been a Starforce member, and so had this girl become. A notable connection, but they were not there yet. These memories must have happened before that. They weren’t on Hala, it was another planet. Was it even part of the Kree empire? If he only had known where Mar-Vell had operated, but he didn’t. He continued to observe but to this dismay their dialogue was partly left out._ _

__“If she only could get her memories in check…”. Hums of agreement sounded. The most important event happened to take place where her memory lapse started._ _

__The spontaneous statement bounced in Talos’ mind. “Wait a minute.” He stopped in his tracks._ _

__“That’s it.”, he said as he turned around and looked at their hope with a calculating expression. A thought had begun to take form. Maybe, if ever by coincidence, she had come to the right place. To his fellow Skrulls, he tried voicing his idea. “What if we actually could patch up, or at best, restore her memories? He looked challenging at the group in front of him._ _

__*****_ _

__Exhilarated murmurs sounded as they flocked around the Starforce member. Anticipation filled the air. It was like something great was going to happen, a rare case indeed for them. Last time had exactly been half a dozen years ago. Talos carefully connected a purple crystal to her._ _

__They had decided to aid her memory recover. Its effects would not be immediate but if giving her the crystal could help them figure out the coordinates, then the waiting would be worth it. Still, a doubt kept niggling in his head; would the advantages weigh out the disadvantages?_ _

__He stepped back and exhaled, somewhat relaxing. The decision was made and actions taken. All they could do now was to hope for the best._ _

__He looked upon the oval stone that had a crystalline shimmering to it. The deep purple color made it resemble an amethyst. However, any Skrull could tell that it was not a normal gemstone. No, its use reached further than being solely cosmetic. The stone was known in their Skrullian language as Ane’thct, the first part roughly translating to ‘memory’ and the other part meaning ‘crystal’. And that name described the stone’s function well._ _

__Talos could himself confirm the memory crystal’s usefulness, especially when combined with their shape shifting ability. He had more than once experienced that acquiring other lifeforms’ memories could take its toll on one’s mind. Fortunately for them the crystal had a clarity-adding attribute to it._ _

__Thinking about the gem’s function added to his belief that their plan would work. Or at least had a chance to do so. The Ane’thct was able to detangle memories and help restore the original ones. What nudged his mind was the fact, as far as he knew, this knowledge was saved for the Skrulls only. They hadn’t tested it on other people. Until now. He let his gaze wander to the Kree. There was no telling if it would have any effect on her._ _

__As the one in charge on this mission, Talos genuinely hoped that their attempt would work. Seeing Mar-Vell in her memories had jogged his mind and he was reminded of her wise words. He couldn’t remember them word for word but it was definitely something that a light would shine through the darkness. A reminder that there was always hope and if not, the hope could be rekindled. It never fully ceased to burn._ _

__On many occasions had he doubted her words, but now, he could see it happening; How the once abstract hope sprang up from nowhere and became concrete. Like the metaphor said, a glimmer of hope had been lit and its blaze radiated warmth. His rekindled hope was strong but he was surprised at how fierce this light was. This couldn’t be right. With every growing second it started to resemble magma. Wait what? It was for real! He was looking at where her hands met their equipment._ _

__Instead of taking the form of wisps of blue power swirling and encircled her fists, a yellow-red light had started to ooze out from gaps of the cuffs like lava from a volcanic crack. More and more breaks formed around the connective parts with each passing second. Ominous squeaks escaped the brittle joints as the stress grew. What would happen next was inevitable._ _

__Two breaths. That was all time it took from the moment her hands had started to glow to the part where her eyes flew open. Another shocked blink of the eye and she had freed herself. Her bewildered gaze rove around the room before it finally settled on him. Narrowed eyes met his own purple ones._ _

__Had everything come to nothing?_ _


	10. I prefer my own ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the chapter title reads, Vers wants her own ending. Inspired by the song No more hollywood endings by Battle beast.

She had heard of it before. Of one's life flashing before one's eyes when everything was to end. People had argued and talked, and given their own experience of the sensation. Some claimed they had seen the totality of their life history; seen their entire past unfolding before their eyes, while others claimed they had only relieved random moments, possibly the most significant parts of their life. 

At first she thought that this was something else, something completely different. This could not be her life flashing before her eyes. The pictures which had arisen in her head were not her own but a stranger’s. Unfamiliar faces and surroundings. The sight of them gave her a light headache. 

After a while of endured frustration, her life review took a sharp turn as different flashbacks replaced the old ones. These memories were more vivid than the previous ones. They were alive. They breathed. She recognized them as her own. The feeling of being a sidekick - sitting back in a cinema and watching somebody else’s happiness - disappeared at the sight of them. She was now the protagonist. To her dismay, it meant that it now had all the makings of being the legendary phenomenon after all. 

There was lack of time limits and so she had to wait many eternities for each new memory. That one second was not one second at all! It stretched on forever, like an inexhaustible ocean of time. A minute, a thousand years. Both and neither. 

In her state of timelessness, she started to notice things she had not previously noticed: subtle facial expressions which lasted only a second, and tiny specks of color in eyes she had failed to noticed before. At the same time she also noticed less pleasant things. And how could she not? It was like she was looking through a magnifying glass instead of seeing everything through her own eyes. She had flaws - just like the sun had its dark spots. 

As stated before. A minute, a thousand years. Both and neither. She had ample time to think back on her actions and her choices of words. 

She waited in downright darkness for the next memory to appear. A constant unease filled her head. There would be another memory for her to see, right? Deep within she knew that each relieved memory could be her last. She sincerely hoped she would get to see a certain memory. She did not know what she was going to do if she never saw it again. 

The same darkness filled everything. It was rich black; a color blacker than black. A kind of black you could never achieve by closing your eyelids, be it in rest or slumber. It surrounded her in a way that could be best described as comforting. An embrace from a long forgotten friend. 

She had never experienced this kind of downright darkness. She had certainly come close at occasions. Thinking about it, when had the most recent time been? She tried to wrack her mind for an answer, but her brain did not really want to cooperate. Was it perhaps yesterday? Could it be that recent? No, that had to be impossible. Yesterday felt very far away. Like eons ago. Nevertheless, the period of time did not matter - not here - rather the event itself. 

It was that one time when she had wanted to go outside. In the dead of night. Her memory felt foggy and she could not quite recall the reasoning behind her behavior. Had it not been uncalled for to stuff herself into the air vent system? In hindsight, a horrible decision indeed. Close to at least. Really. If she could, she would have shaken her head at herself. She pretended to do so. It’s the thought that counts. Hereafter she decided to start crafting better and more well-reasoned plans. But on the contrary, how could she ever regret that one reckless choice when it had led to one of her most beautiful memories? It would have been too beautiful not to risk it! The pouring rain. The ocean of stars. The stray puzzle piece finding its place. It was in the past and she had survived. She had-

Her line of thought brought a sudden solemnness. She had survived last time. But what about now? A blanket of sadness draped itself over her shoulders; heavy and cool to the touch. Wasn't her latest slip-up the very reason she was here - wherever this place was - floating in emptiness as her memories appeared to her one final time as a slideshow?

Once again, darkness stared back at her. But something had changed. It was no longer pitch dark. Not anymore. A thin thread of light shone in the distance as drops of light danced against the backdrop of darkness. What was this? Light at the end of the tunnel? 

No. She had been here before. The waiting was over now. Another memory was to begin. It was a memory she treasured.

A faint pattering of raindrops filled her head. It was not light at the end of the tunnel, it was rather the shaft of light that filtered through the vent grate. She felt pretty much the same sensations as she had felt back then. Optimism. Adrenaline of adventure. The layer of steel was her only adversary separating her from her goal. From the outside world. And actually so much more. The countless stars, the feelings of wonder.

One thing was for sure, she would see those magnificent twinkling spots of light. There might be an higher power somewhere in the cosmos pulling her fate’s strings like it was a marionette, but this time, she would be the master of her own fate. She wanted her own ending. She would once more melt away the metal lid. And then, and only then, when the final notes of her song rang out, her story would come to a close. She would close her eyes to see the stars. 

A final rest among the stars. 

*****

Her eyes sprung open to an unexpected sight. Instead of a starry sky, she was staring up at a surface resembling molten metal. Her stars were bolts and her celestial bodies were screws against a wide expanse of metal. To add to her confusion: it was actually the ceiling she looked at. For some unknown reason, her world twisted as the ceiling swapped place with the floor. She instinctively landed on her feet with one knee planted steadily in front of herself.

Was this the other side? Her bewildered gaze roved around in a desperate search for explanations. Bizarre did not come close to describe the situation. Wherever she had ended up, this was not where she was supposed to be.

Her mind was like a snow globe somebody had shaken or turned upside down. Swirling. Scattered. Confused. After a moment of waiting, the flurry of snowflakes drifted back down and the confusion was partly replaced with clarity. Her head managed to sort out some impressions. She was not alone. 

She counted five others. Five figures… or statues. A warning bell rung in her head. They were Skrulls, weren’t they? But it was hard to tell how many of them were real and not petrified. She carefully rotated around. There were no more of them, she quickly deduced: they were all concentrated at one end of the room. And they just stood there. Perfectly still. None of them moved a limb. No one blinked. They were insects trapped in amber; unaffected by the passage of time. Motionless. 

Had time stopped again? No, time could not possibly have frozen, her hands were- what? Her hands trembled inside cylindrical cuffs. Heavy and not well balanced. An onslaught of fear tethered on the edge of her mind, but it was drowned out by the surrealism of the situation. 

Okay... so time had not stopped. Which meant… They were not statues, they only acted motionless. On closer inspection, their eye movements gave away their status. Watchful eyes tracked her movements and five pair of eyes traded looks with each other every few seconds. Other than that, they remained standing still. 

The lack of action made her nervous. Was this some sort of distraction? She had to see the picture as a whole. They surely hoped that she would fall into the same mood. The thought made her tense up. No, she wouldn’t have it, she was more savvy than that. Letting her guard down was no option, not to mention mirroring their dull position. She observed each and every one of them. Seconds ticked on. There could be a surprise attack any moment now.

She clenched her hands. Or intended to do so, she wasn’t sure if her arms complied. There was also an unusual coolness from.. the floor? Turns out there was a reason the coldness felt like it seeped right through to her feet as if there was no barrier between them and the cold floor. She looked down and got it confirmed. Barefoot. Her gaze returned to the far side of the room. There had been an odd but familiar detail in the corner, but she had not been able to pinpoint it for what it was. Green, black and silver. It was her boots. They sat there in the corner of the room. Waiting for her. The situation was bizarre indeed. 

This was for real then. Despite her moment of confusion, she knew what part to play. Escape. A plan could consist of one word. Survival was an instinct it all came down to in the end. The how was not important, rather the outcome. 

On second thoughts, she could add a word in front of ‘escape’ in her plan. It now read: Boots. Escape. In short, a good plan. Really good. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly in an inaudible sigh. She who had only moments ago promised to start crafting better plans. Maybe she could start after this? After she had escaped? 

She was midway in her walk to fetch them when a sudden question made her almost jump back. 

"Can we have a word?" One of the statues had chosen to come alive. It had taken a step forwards as it searched for eye contact. 

She was many things, but speechless was usually not one of them. However in this moment Vers was not sure what to answer. She eventually settled for a simple nod and continued her walk to where her boots laid waiting. A talk might after all be a great distraction to buy some time, she’d better play along. 

It turned out the Skrull wanted to know about a person named Mar-Vell. Her whereabouts. Her status. Everything. The name had a pang of familiarity to it, like she had heard it before but could not pinpoint where from. Maybe it was a fairly common name? Or perhaps the name shared the same syllables as other names she had heard.

Even though his voice was clear as well as his questions, she still did not quite understand what he wanted of her. Instead of giving him dusty answers she tried to stall in her answering. A tone of nonchalance pervaded her answers which seemed to downhearten her interviewer. But how could she care about how much he yearned for genuine answers, when all his questions were filtered out from all of her own questions rattling inside her head? Besides, she had another active task set in mind.

To put on her boots without the help of her hands proved a challenge. To complicate things further, she was unwilling to turn her back to her enemy and had to tolerate the awkward atmosphere. Constantly on her guard, she was trying two things at the same time: to shove her feet into boots and make sure they were not going to make the first move. More of them had broken free from their immobility. Even as they had drawn themselves to their full height, she towered an inch or two over them. It was a cold comfort to her self-assurance because they still outnumbered her. It also seemed that they had gotten wind of what she was trying to do. 

But what did it matter that her attempt to feign casualness was probably failing? That it was visible from miles away what her plan was? She was trying to make their chat serve as a prelude before their inevitable fight. To stall in time long enough for her to get back all of her armor. It was to each their own. 

While struggling with coordination and balance, she could not help but to notice a detail. Her enemies did not look as grotesque as the posters had depicted them. Perhaps it was an optical illusion? A pair of huge crystals casted a warm sheen over them, illuminated their features. They looked close to respectable. Maybe that was the reason they let her get back her boots? Her thinking progress darkened. It was not wise to draw conclusion from appearances. Their outer aura of harmlessness could be chalked up to their surface appearance being deceptive. Everything could change in the blink of an eye. She knew very well that one of her less beneficial attributes was her tendency to underestimate things. Everything from dangers to-. And that one occasion with distance... She had-

And why was her head running wild? This was no place for spacing out. She swiftly turned back her attention to her task. After a few failed attempts, she finally managed to slip into her shoes. It was a bit uncomfortable but it would do. At least they would stay on her feet. 

With one thing out of the way, the last part of her plan remained. Escape. She was in the midst of answering a question but she stopped and let her cascade of words fade out. And they did so in a mystic way. The five Skrulls must have gotten the hint as they waited with nervous attention for her next course of action. Was it in her imagination or did sweat bead on their brows? She almost chuckled. Why drag on this moment any longer? 

“Alright. Before we start”. She held up her encapsulated hands and rotated them casually. The room was half-gloomy and a nice pale yellow color, the same light as a smoldering fire, escaped from gaps on their lower sides. The corner of her mouth twitched when two of them flinched back. Was she that intimidating? 

“Does anyone know-”, she waited a moment before finishing her sentence - just because she could. 

“...how these come off?”

Every movement and every word, spoken or unspoken, were drops of water filling a goblet, a metaphorical goblet until it was on the brink of overflowing. Their fight was inevitable, there was no refusing it. It was like the tale of the man waiting for the other shoe to drop. The vessel would eventually brim over. She had done her part. It was now their turn to make a move. While she waited, she let her body drop into a fighting stance. She was ready. But the question remained; Were they?

Turns out the answer was no. Yet again, they responded with an unnatural stillness. The moment of tranquility did not get to last long. A door she had not noticed until now was opened as somebody rushed into the room. “I have-”, the newcomer exclaimed.

Further than that did he not make it. Vers had lunged for the escape route, knocking him aside in her wake and making him drop whatever he had been holding. It had begun. 

Upon reaching the new scenery, she scanned the corridor with darting eyes. It was either left or right. She could feel faint noises of ventilation above her. White noise. A low rumble of engines was also audible. She was aboard a ship. She turned her head sideways in a try to navigate, but it was impossible to draw a conclusion on what part of the ship she resided on. Was she on the rear or the end part of the ship? Which route would benefit her? A sudden shout from a patrolling group made the answer clear. Left it was. 

*****

Fighting her way through the never-ending forces of Skrulls, she was ever so grateful she’d been extensively trained in hand-to-hand combat. All those trainings. Strength. Agility. Speed. Defense. Who could have known there would be a time when her photon power was beyond her reach?

“Bring it on!”, she urged as she bumped her hands together. To her surprise, the collision did not result in a metallic clang, but a dull thud. What? It was like the cuffs were made of stone instead of metal. And it could be, because not only were they heavy, they also refused to simply melt away. 

More of her opponents had blocked the hallway leading to the next section. She could stand her ground, but what else had her mentor taught her? Anger served the enemy. ‘Hmm, let's test that theory shall we?’, she thought idly. 

“Come and get me, enemy of freedom!” she taunted.

One of her pursuers seemed definitely provoked by that line, as it roared at her. She answered with a roar of her own - the most logical thing she could think of. The aghast look she received back was totally worth it. Sadly it only lasted a scare moment because her kick sent the Skrull sprawling to the floor. She ran past the others. 

Another group found her further down the corridors. And if she wasn’t mistaken, some of them had been in the room where this whole mess had started. She wouldn't let that detail slow her down as she continued her trek. It wasn’t like she was back on square one. The same target remained: escape. “Get out” she breathed, as she jogged further away.

To her irritation, the Skrull who had first spoken to her continued to trail after her. He did not seem to be afraid of her fury. Quite the opposite, he seemed calm as the continued to fire more of his endless questions. Vers did not need to take many steps before she got to hear another one. And each time a strange sensation would wash over her. It was disturbing how his mind games seemed to directly nudge all corners of her mind.

“...What does that word evoke?" 

_The feeling of weightlessness as if you were soaring freely in the sky. Carefreeness as if you had just laughed over a silly joke._

"Enough of your mind games. It’s not working”, she snapped back. Her voice held less fierceness than she had planned for. And it added to her irritation. His plans were not working, she psyched up.

The Skrull, supposedly their leader, shrugged and seemed to take another approach as he changed the subject.

“As for your question -how those come off- it’s a lock mechanism”. He nodded towards the cuffs. “But it’s destroyed now”. Honest words, disappointing news.

“Destroyed?”, she repeated with disbelief in her voice. She checked her encapsulated hands again. No, they looked perfectly intact to her. She gritted her teeth. With the newly acquired information, it was crystal clear they wouldn’t let her free from her hindrance. Destroyed, he had said? Ha! She would show him what the word 'destroyed' really meant!

With an unheard concentration, Vers tried to summon up all her pent-up energy, stress, emotion, anger and whatever into her attempt to crumble the restraints. Every launched blast was trapped, thus producing a loud ‘ca-chunk’ sound. Sounds of something breaking was also heard. The knowledge that she had a chance to succeed strengthened her power input. Soon the sheer force from each blast threatened to throw her backwards. And at her next blast, it did, her back bumped against a wall. 

All except one of her enemies had fled the scene. The calm one remained, but that description was no longer accurate to his character. He stared at her alarmed. Afraid. 

"Hey. Stop that. Listen to me". An urgency filled his voice as he tried to drown out the chaotic background sounds. "I can and will figure out a way. Just stop-".

"Too late", she stated dryly as her unstable powers transitioned into a flowing beam of light. This time she was promptly thrown off balance when the energy outburst hit the opposite wall in an explosive event. Particle by particle, her cuffs crumbled in dusty layers to nothing. She breathed deep and heavy breaths. Her action felt like it had fried her very nerve endings. But the tingling sensation was quickly drowned out by the sight of her hands. Oh how she had missed to just be able to look at them! Everything from the sleeves of her suit to her fingernails looked perfectly fine. Flawless even, because they were her same old hands. She rubbed her hands together and wanted to shout out of joy. She was free.

And then fate chose to step in and show its face. This time though, it was Vers’ turn to experience bad luck. The sounds of something breaking grew louder and louder by each passing second. How was that even possible? The creaking noises should by all means have stopped when she had reduced the shackles to dust. There was nothing left of them to produce the sounds of structure-failure. 

She turned around to the source of the worrying sounds. It came from the opposite wall. A rupture had formed in the hull, and damn that sight did not bode well. A latticework of thin cracks had formed around the spot she had hit by mistake. She could already feel the drop in air pressure. 

"Don’t break. Please don’t break", she chanted. For about three seconds it worked. Then the hull gave vent to the damage as it folded inwards, leaving a gaping hole in the ship. She felt the vacuum of the outside pulling her towards the site of destruction. The flying mayhem grew in disorganization as small particles, debris, as well as oxygen zipped past her, escaping out to the endless cosmos. Everything happened so fast. She remembered losing her foothold, grabbing onto a handle near the core of the ship, hanging half outside, half inside the ship. The last thing she registered was a pale blue light washing over her head before a block of wreckage filled her vision. 

*****

“What do we do now?”. 

It was a question he had as well asked himself at least ten times. Talos rubbed his temples with such force he wondered if he could crack his temporal bones. They had been so close in finding out the truth, but fate had continued to evade his fortune. 

“Will we have to save her?”, an alarmed, yet attentive pair of eyes wondered. 

Talos gaze flickered back to the dashboard with readouts and indicators. Her caused explosion had destabilized the hull greatly, leaving their ship sticking out like a sore thumb on the radar.

“No. The rest of her team can’t be far away”. Talos was clear on his last point, “We should first off save ourselves.”

To their utter relief, a jump point was located within their reach. They maneuvered closer to the hidden portal and waited there. They stayed just long enough to catch a glimpse of the terrifying and advanced Helion as it came into view. It stopped abruptly and made no immediate move to open fire. 

With a bright flash, Talos’s crew let their own flagship zip into safety. Whoever the person they had encountered was, she was to live. Her life along her memories were invaluable. And he would definitely cross paths with her again. Be it on her home turf or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A final rest among the stars. Wow. How poetic… Well, she does get the ending she wishes for, in one way or another. However, the questions still remains; is this the beginning of an end, or the end of an beginning?


	11. Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Forgive my thoughts when I'm asleep._  
>  Forgive these words I'm yet to speak  
> \- Devotion by Hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Devotion by Hurts is actually one of my favorite songs, lol, actually one of my top 100 favorite songs truth to be told… but whatever :) Another thing that drew my attention was the name of the song. I just now realized that ‘devotion’ is an ambiguous word; it’s open to more than one interpretation. Perfect name for the chapter, I hope?

“To what end?” 

The cool voice reverberated throughout the vastness of the chamber, although it should not have been possible for this location - it should have been lost in the emptiness - but it did not. Instead it bounced off invisible walls, producing a loud and clear sound. The voice seemed to echo in his very head. There was a faint condescending tone when it spoke, and it did not escape his notice. 

‘To what end’ - a question often characterized by a curious undertone, the kind of question he, Yon-Rogg, every now and then liked to use as well. He appreciated the way it opened up for reflection on a subject. When uttered, it invited opinions to be expressed, allowing him to develop his thoughts.

Clearly, this was not that context. It was rather the dimension where the Supreme Intelligence could be communed with. The question was not followed by patience; there was no room encouraging an answer. It was a rhetorical question.

The same words managed to produce a quite different atmosphere. And so, in his numbness, the silence stretched on. Three words. It could have been a question, but it was not. Instead, the attention was directed at the unsaid. "To what end are you stalling in time?  
Why keep up this losing game?” 

He must have had an inkling where this conversation was heading, because he found himself drawing in a shallow breath. Yon-Rogg held it for a while in an attempt to summon up the urge to look up at the inquirer. As of yet, he had only been looking in the general direction where the other person stood, avoiding meeting his eyes. He did not need to look up, to know to whom the voice belonged to, for he knew it all too well.

\- knew it like the back of his hand. 

When he did look up his gaze met familiar features. A figure as tall as he, and possessing the same build as him. They stood as two nearly perfect reflections of each other, like a mirror had been placed in front of him. However, this was no simple reflection. In this dimension, the one opposite him was real. He was looking at the person he was supposed to respect and admire above all others. 

What he saw was strong shoulders and arms which added to a strong build, making him look like his father. Despite the resemblance, it was not his father, and neither was it his brother. He saw someone else. There was a reason he seldom held eye contact for long with this person. A reason he used his words sparingly with caution. He would meet the gaze of no other than himself. 

It had not always been like this. Initially, when he joined the military and had met the Supreme Intelligence for the first time, he had seen his father. And how could he not? He had all in all been a respectable man. Yon-Rogg had looked up to him, he had admired his authority but on the same time, his sense of camaraderie and honorable nature. In plain terms, values and traits he had tried to take after as best as he could. 

When he climbed the ranks and became leader of the Starforce the picture had started changing. It was a slow change, but after he had met Vers and started to train her, it was clear who it now resembled. Himself. Was there an underlying reason he saw himself? This could not be the whole truth, could it? His ‘self-admiration’ was like a cloud - it came and went in the same way clouds moved across the sky on a windy day. 

One of the more conspicuous disparities between him and the virtual form were the eyes. They were not a golden yellow, but a golden green. Despite the eye color, there was no refuting it. It was simple to tell who the visual image was supposed to represent. 

"And one last point". 

******

In comparison to intergalactic cruisers and mountain-sized battleships, Helion was a small ship. But everything was relative. The inside of their ship was all the same spacious enough for him to walk from one end to the other and have time to replay the main features of their talk. He often walked with a brisk pace, but this once a tiredness had settled in his bones, thus slowing down his steps a notch and giving him more time to replay the conversation. Their talk had been one of their shorter ones, simply because there had not been much to say. The Supremor was in the know about most things and therefore adding observations was hardly needed which effectively kept the duration short. Still, the before-mentioned tiredness remained. 

He had led his team to failure. They had failed to retrieve Soh-Larr. In the eyes of the Supreme Intelligence, without retrieving the scout and his intelligence, they would return empty handed to Hala. To him, his team deserved more credit for their efforts. They had staved off a trap which had been set for them, and they had even managed to return unhurt - relatively unhurt - from the danger. 

But empty handed? The lack of acknowledgement made his fist clench. They weren't empty handed. The way he saw it, the label was not true. He got back Vers despite the unlikeness of their own mission. Only moments ago, he had had his arms full when he had carried her inside after picking her up from space. They had managed to retrieve what had been lost. 

She had been afloat in space when they had finally found her. They had taken the chance to track down a similar energy signal as her own energy pattern. Whether Vers knew it or not, she radiated a small amount of gamma radiation - a direct consequence of standing too close to the light-speed engine she had chosen to blow up. Most likely she did not know about this fact, because her new physiology made it harmless to her body. The cosmic background radiation had made their search nearly hopeless, but against all odds they found her. They got reunited.

They had come to a stop close to her, and a great distance away from her the same spaceship they had given chase to - now sporting a big rupture in its hull - had been spotted before it had dived into a jump point and disappeared yet again from their sight. 

He came to short stop in his tracks when he remembered the rescue maneuver. In most cases when they wanted to bring in an object from the outside, they would use the ship’s own built-in function. In theory, a person was an object, but they had still chosen another way just in case. After making a beeline to their goal they had slowed down and came to a slow drift close to where she resided. He had then gone outside and with the help of his gauntlets’ gravitational energy drawn her close enough for him to reach her. 

The corridors became more narrow as he directed his steps towards the innermost room of the ship, to where the others waited for him, and also to the same place he had deposited Vers before going to see the Supremor. At first, he had wanted to postpone their meeting, to just stay at her side and search with meticulous care for injuries and marks that could explain what she had encountered. If she was okay or not. However, many things had held him back. He was the commander and he had already for too long ignored reporting back on their close-call situation. And secondly, he was not the team’s first-hand medic, and so he had in the end handed over the task to Minn-Erva. Her medical knowledge surpassed his own.

He had now returned to hear her assessment. And to give an order. Or rather, to pass on an order from the Supremor. Minn-Erva straightened her spine when she caught sight him, and he took her calm expression on her face as a good sign. His shoulders relaxed somewhat.

“She seems fine", she told him, "I’m guessing she drew too much energy at once and was unaccustomed to the way it drained her energy”.

He nodded slowly in agreement. 

“Can I wake her up?” Minn-Erva hovered a hand over Vers' forehead. 

The logical answer was naturally yes. Moreover, it looked like she was coming around. But still he stayed silent as if he was mulling over what to say. Some words from the S.I. were clearer than others in his mind. His eyes flickered from her hand back up to her face.

“No”, he finally said - a reply out of character given the current situation. All eyes turned to him in questioning looks. Had they heard him right? 

“We’re gonna pretend she’s dead, or what?” 

Yon-Rogg remained unaffected by the remark, but his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. There were times when he regretted ever giving his team permission to question his orders. This was definitely one of those moments. He plainly chose to shut out their comments. He was not in the mood for exhaustive explanations. What was the point?

"She's to wake up at Hala", he gritted out. And left. 

This was going to be a long five hours.


	12. What happened?

She was back in the depths of blue, swimming through dreams and memories alike. The endless space made her marvel at the calm it evoked; the way the cool water embraced her, and at the same time, how the obscured sight brought a feeling of smoothness. Amidst everything, she heard a faint voice. It was calling for someone. But who? Someone named Vers? Was that her name? She glided towards the stream of moving images, every stroke powerful enough to let her plow through the surrounding water.

For a moment, she let herself be moved along the flowing water mass. Though her apparent lacking need for air, she nevertheless found herself gazing upwards toward the brighter surface with a renewed sense of awe. Air. _Airforce_ , she thinks, but she doesn't know where that word comes from, and it leaves quickly enough, disappearing out of her mind.

The currents changed, and she felt herself being lifted upward. The turn of events unsettled her, she wasn’t ready to leave. There was something that made her want to stay, and so she tried fighting the force acting on her. If she left, maybe she wouldn’t find her way back here. Hopelessly, she made a twirl and desperately grasped for any hold. Was it a word? Something important? However fiercely she tried to claw herself onto the moment, the water would slip through her fingers. Hadn’t she just remembered a word? Once the question surfaced, so did she. The abrupt shift brought her out of her dreaming.

*****

Instinctively, she drew in a sharp breath. Bright light shone from the ceiling and its intensity stung her eyes - probably the reason why small luminescent spots danced in front of her eyes. Why was everything so bright? 

She sat up in her bed and shoved the blanket aside. If ever a bit confused, she peered at the white walls. First thing she could make out, was that all four stood fairly close to her. After a short moment of batting the eyelids, the discomfort due to the bright lighting alleviated. When her vision returned to normal, she made a try to comprehend her thoughts. This room felt familiar to her. It was as if she had been here before. Long ago. Casting an eye about the place, she recognized the room as the medical bay. If she weren’t mistaken, it was possibly the room from her earliest memory. Back then, the pale walls and the scarce furnishing had made the place appear like a blank canvas - as blank as her memory had been. Now however, when her eyes had rested on the ceiling for a while, she felt more secure. This time the details in the room meant something to her, they accommodated serenity in a way. All she now had to work on was the explanation how had she had ended up here.

She reached out a hand towards the ceiling - partly to shade herself from the lighting - but mostly to support her thinking. She started counting out the facts on her fingers. The mission on Torfa. She had found Soh-Larr. Shortly after, she had blackened out, only to wake up in an alien place. From there, she had fought her way through crowded corridors and - last but not least- she had managed to break free. She pursed her lips in thought. The recently recalled summary was a very succinct explanation for what had happened. It had definitely not been as simple as all that. But the outcome was nevertheless the same. A preoccupied expression had settled on her face as she continued to look at her still outstretched hands. Then suddenly, as if a thought had struck her, she froze. Certainly she could still summon up her powers? Because now that she thought about it, she had not too long ago been restricted to use them. 

Her right hand closed into a fist, and in a fraction of a moment, she recalled the feeling of being alive. Luminant pulses spread across her palms, changing color as the energy’s rays surfaced. From blazing orange to shining silvery white, one moment glowing and in the next, translucent flames danced along her wrists. She had once again woken up with powers. The knowledge made her tense shoulders relax. Relieved, she slumped back in the bed. Then, everything was as it should be. Or was it? 

She idly surveyed the room. On further inspection, she would still swear that this was the same room. Everything was painted in a muted color - not pastel colors - simply washed out tones of grey. Just as she remembered it to be. Even the fluorescent lighting which had nudged her to awareness was alarmingly familiar. Down to every element the same, she concluded, and by all probability, she was wearing the same white gown as last time. At the same time though, it was impossible to say that nothing had changed. Because there was a definite change. She knew there was; she could feel it. It was a change in something she couldn’t pinpoint exactly. It resonated deep, deeper than the tingling sensation in her fingertips when her powers flared to life. She did another take on her surrounded and got it confirmed; it had not to do with the sights and shared attributes of the room. No. Rather than being tangible, the change was abstract. Abstract like happiness and warmth. Like love and relief. Like hope. 

She tilted her head to the side. It could be either of those five - or none of them. And now that she thought about it, maybe it was completely a different abstractness? She closed her eyes, allowing her to look inward: to find focus in her mind’s vastness. The two situations - the now and six years ago - they were not comparable with each other. Not yet perhaps. A crucial detail was missing from the scene. An absence which could not be overlooked. In her tranquility, she dared to hope that a certain person would show up.

*****

“You’re awake”. His voice sounded astounded.

Before her stood Yon-Rogg. Vers had not needed to wait long before he had appeared to see her. 

“Yes?”, her answer came automatically. “That’s why I have my eyes open. And I’m fine, thanks for asking” 

Preoccupied with her sarcasm, she paid it no extra attention when Yon-Rogg settled himself beside her. The closeness didn’t occur to her, before he had covered her hand with his, and a wave of warmth washed over her. Again, a feeling of familiarity settled over her - unexpected yet welcome. She stretched leisurely. Her mind felt unusually clear, her body rested and full of energy. It was as if a new clarity had settled in her head. In short, she felt alive. Yon-Rogg on the other hand...

“You look awful”, she observed. This close, she could make out dark rings under his eyes - barely discernible - but distinct enough to be noticed. According to her interpretation, it was tantamount to that something bad must have happened. As far as Vers knew, he seldom looked wary. But now he subtly did so, in more than one way. Usually, she did not struggle between doubt and forthrightness, but this time, it was hard to find the right words. 

“What happened?”, she finally asked. 

"Vers, that's the question I’m asking you”.

For a second, she was perplexed by his reply. How was she to know why he looked dispirited, like he was caught up under elephant's weight? And then it dawned on her. Right. They were thinking about two separate things. His question must have referred to their Starforce mission.

“You mean, what happened on Torfa?”, she clarified. 

There were occasions when it was easier, and occasions when it was harder to read his expression. To interpret it. He seemed to have picked up that she had directed the question at him, and not on their mission. ‘ _There’s more than one point of view?_ ’, she thought she could read from his expression, but she could not be too sure. Nevertheless, she chose to chance it.

“There is”, she said. They continued to hold eye contact for a moment and in the end, he was the one to first turn his gaze away. 

“The distress signal led to a dead end. An ambush awaited us there”. He sighed, clasped his hands together and resumed their eye contact. “It was a well-planned one”. He paused for a couple of beats and a crease appeared between his brows. He looked deep in thought. Both waited in silence. Vers opened her mouth to interject something, but he held up a stalling hand and continued his words. “We all returned to Hala. Nobody got hurt”.

She found herself nodding along as she progressed his words. All six of them had returned home. His words brought with them a huge relief, but it did not explain, or give the answer to the question she had specifically in mind.

“What's your version? What happened?”, he asked seriously, trying to search her eyes. 

Vers opened her mouth to speak. It was now her turn to shed light on the situation. 

“I…”, she started, but trailed off, wondering where she'd begin. So much had come about, and so she found her mind to be temporarily blank. Only moments ago she had counted off the facts on her fingers. Could she perhaps do that again? She knew her commander probably would not judge her for using her hands as a support when recalling the events.

She chose to tell him her version of what had happened in parts, and in doing so, she had to stop more than once to think about the next words. Now and then, she would glance up at him, and he would slightly nod along. Occasionally, he would also ask a support question, a way to jog her memory. It helped, it really did. But to be honest, all she wanted to do was to sweep everything under the carpet. With a subtle shrug, she finished her rendering. 

“Can’t we round off this conversation?”, she said, after a moment of thought, “Continue later or something?” To lean back and state that everyone was alive and breathing. Wasn’t that the only thing that mattered?

For a moment, he looked like he agreed with her because the corners of his mouth twitched, as if he was ready to smile. But it might as well be a frown. His body language inclined that he would settle for her explanation on the take for now.

“Alright, but one final note. It’s about something that has evaded me.”

She shrugged, this was a fairly enough good deal. “Sure, fire away”, she said, and this time she did not miss the smile which briefly flashed on his face. 

“We have checked your suit.” he started, as he watched her reaction. “Your boots were missing its pair of daggers. How come?” he queried. 

Each Starforce suit was equipped with a pair of sharp daggers - they were stealthily stowed away in the boots. Vers was aware of this extra detail and had thought 'how convenient' when she had heard someone mention this extra equipment to her. But now Yon-Rogg meant they were missing... Vers really had to fight tooth and nail to resist the urge to facepalm. Really. Because she knew exactly when they had disappeared - and who precisely had taken them. 

Back then, when she had woken up as a prisoner on the unfamiliar ship, she had woken up without her shoes. Upon taking them from the Skrulls, she had never had time to check, or to even think about checking, if the daggers were still there, and why would she have? Her hands had been unavailable at that time. And on second note, they were well hidden from sight. She would not have spotted them easily. 

Well… if this was the only casualty of this close-call experience, it wasn't that bad. Outwardly, she offered a sheepish smile, probably a little out of context. But the real reason the daggers were missing, the explanation, did not really fit that perfectly in her version of the events... Could she somehow sidetrack his question? 

“Can I get it back?”, she blurted out.

Yon-Rogg raised his eyebrows and offered a questioning gaze.

“The suit, I mean”, she quickly added. 

"Later", came the answer, maybe a little bit delayed in time. 

“Sure”. This was of course an inconvenience, but she would by all probability get it back later, for their next mission, as he recently had implied. 

“And when is our next training session?” No sooner had the words had left her, when she remembered that she was officially done with that part. She was no longer a recruit, but what did that actually mean? 

“Do you want to fight?”, she corrected and tried to play it casual. That is, by sitting up more straight and pretending she was in perfect health in every way in; In top condition for a fight. Because she was. 

“I appreciate the offer, but I must pass”.

 _Oh_. A feeling close to disappointment settled in her stomach. He seldom turned down her requests to go sparring with her. Actually, it had become more of a routine, a part of the mentor mentee thing. Something that motivated her, what kept her going. Wasn’t he the one who had told her that development ends in satisfaction? He couldn’t end this here. Not after all these years. Her aim had always been to one day take him on and beat him without the use of her borrowed powers. And now, she wouldn’t have the chance to reach for that dream? Her grip on her blanket grew more steady. After all, this was to be expected. 

“Today, I’ve-”, he started, but soon got interrupted. 

“This once?”, she shot in, adding the words in a rush, “-For old time’s sake?”, she made a helpless gesture with her hands. She remembered herself starting to add something new when it was his turn to interrupt her. 

“Vers. Wait”. When she noticed his amused facial expression - the one he’d so often wear when she'd quipped something comical - she stopped in her tracks. And by that time she had probably rephrased her suggestion at least trice. 

“Let me finish my sentence”. She eyed him with anticipation and noticed, he had perked up considerably. She hoped it was going to last. And it did. “I remain your mentor, but I don’t have time for a fight. Not today, as there’s a group of students I’m supposed to lecture”

For some reason, it felt like she did not need to ask, but she did it nevertheless. 

“Can I tag along?”


	13. Combat training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13! Yay, finally! :) 
> 
> Also added some of my own backstory for the characters. Hope it works

The day had started out the best way Vers could imagine. After her recent events out in space, including a somewhat optimistic yet possible escape maneuver, she was relieved to realize she was back on Hala. And what's more, she still possessed her powers. Was there ever any doubt? She felt great. What might underline her perfect mood, was the fact Yon-Rogg had agreed on her joining his lecture. 

Vers adjusted her collar and glanced at Yon-Rogg. He walked beside her and wore similar dark clothes, their colors painting a nice contrast to the otherwise white walls of the corridors. They had left the room and were making their way to another building. Only moments ago, he had fetched something more casual for her to wear. And by casual, it went as far as being a training outfit. 

The matching pair closed in on the exit when hurried steps were heard behind them. The echoing made Vers want to pick up the pace. And similar to her reaction, she felt him tense up beside her too. Their pursuer, who obviously was a nurse, gave a short shout to catch their attention. Politely, they came to a halt. The nurse joined them and had explained to them in drawn-out sentences they weren’t allowed to leave. Or rather, Vers wasn’t - not yet. And the reason? She was supposed to be subjected to some extra security testing. 

Yon-Rogg and the other one had stepped aside a couple of paces away from her, as though their exchange of words couldn’t reach her ears. A note of authority had crept into his voice when they had conversed. But she didn’t have to hear their conversation. It was clear enough to just look at them. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly as her commander’s words had little effect on the stone-faced Kree. He had turned back to her after a while. Presumably he tried to look encouraging when he let her know the situation. But to Vers, his expression looked more like a grimace.

The Kree nurse was not the one to be challenged, the orders came from higher power - and the decision had already been made. No argument, be it that his own team had already checked her and were convinced about her state, could change the outcome.

*****

Maybe it was subjective, but she found the whole deal unnecessary. How hard could it be to tell her and a Skrull apart? Hollow moments had ticked on. Were they aware of all the references to her first time on Hala they kept on making? Whatever comfort they tried to offer, it was close to being too much. 

When she at last arrived at her destination, it had been late. She had seemingly made it to the ending of Yon-Rogg’s lecture with his students. For a while she stood there in the doorway, leaning against the wall and silently watching the assembled group of small, but enthusiastic pupils.

 

They chose to leave their fight until tomorrow

*****

Vers sensed the punch and moved. The fist swished by her head and hit thin air. Having dodged it just in time, she countered with a crossed hit - a move he had taught her not long ago. Her move had desired effect, for a fraction of a second, there was conflict in her opponent's balance, as he had had to shift his weight in the opposite direction of his line. Seizing the opportunity, she twisted and managed to bring him down. 

_Thud_

Vers stumbled forwards by the force, but quickly regained her balance. Heart still racing, she turned to face Yon-Rogg. She rarely managed to counter with a move well-planned enough to bring him down. Scoring a point was tricky and for obvious reasons, it had only happened a handful of times. Two times to be precise. Now, and some weeks ago.

Back then, it hadn’t at first been anything out of the ordinary; she had woken up from a bad dream, wandered down the corridors to his door and invited him to a fight. Pretty much the same procedure they had grown used to. While sparring, he had asked if she'd seen anything new in her dream. What broke the normal order, was that she had then for once replied yes. An answer which for some unknown reason had made him freeze - an opportunity she hadn’t missed. She had miraculously managed to grasp that opening, to utilize his sudden drop in guard, and won the round. 

Well, anyone would have been surprised by her deviant answer. For years she had answered his question in the negative because nothing new had ever turned up. It was the same barren landscape as always - strewn with stones and occasional scraps of metal. And every time, a bright flash of light would jolt her out of her sleeping. But at that instance, she had seen a new detail.

And now she could see that deviant detail again, remember it. But it was nothing of significance. Really. No wonder she had brushed it aside when he had asked her again what she had seen. It was only a random observation - and a very trivial one. Because to what good was it for him to know, that all above her in her dream, the sky had been innocently blue? 

She turned back on the present, seeking some credits there.

“Are you going easy on me?” She had formulated the sentence in her head as a statement, but somehow it came out as a question. There was no telling for sure, maybe she had after all grown stronger. 

Additionally, she wanted to ask if the floor was slippery but decided against it. It would be tautological to say it both in words and with the eyes. Her smirk could well enough convey the message.

“Oh, I wouldn’t know. You tell”, he replied simply. 

_What?_ He looked back at her with a gleam in his eye, and it took a moment before his words clicked in her head. Next thing she knew, he had covered up his mistake by tripping her over, knocking her down to join him on the floor. She fell - slipped.

She groaned. _Back at me again._ It was obvious he was referring to the one quip she had just suggested to with the eyes, to their inside joke; to her excuse he’d so often hear her say. Because here on these non-slip mats, you did not fall, you slipped. No punch (be it to the face or not) could change that fact. With her (un)necessary pause to make a joke, and her small defeat, the score was now two to one. No prizes for guessing who had taken back the lead... 

“And I am in fact going easy on you”. He said and got back on his feet.

“Why? I feel fine”, she assured and stood up as well. She did feel fighting fit; in excellent health. Even the warm-up had gone smooth. “Besides”, she continued, “You know what they say: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. The last-named words came spontaneously, a quote which had escaped her mind. Arms crossed and a slightly clenched jaw, she knew Yon-Rogg did not quite agree with her. 

And now when she pondered the words, maybe everything was not as black as white as it sounded. At one point in her life, she was sure this statement had held true. She knew it, knew it by the way the words rolled off her tongue as if they were familiar, but she did not know the reason why she was sure of it.

“Will try again is more likely”, he said after a short moment of thought.

“Yeah, but their last try was not that convincing". 

They had continued to exchange blows and parry each other's hits. Fighting and talking had been difficult at first, but she had with time learned to focus her mind on both tasks simultaneously. Now it came naturally, but of course it could sometimes be distracting. At the moment it was fairly easy, partly because she had beforehand thought long of what she wanted to say, of what she wanted to add about her experience with the Skrulls. A good deal of the night she had wondered what had actually transpired. 

“They didn’t even initiate any attack at first. We just stood there, staring at each other like a group of clueless strangers. Like they were hoping for me to just die out of anticipation” By the strange look he sent her, she found it a good cue to leave it there. She chose to continue with factual observations.

“They did not really seem like fighters to me, not at least those I fought. They would surely have to put up more of a fight if they would have hoped to keep me restrained on their ship"

“About that. Tell me about your escape. From what I could deduce, you outmatched them?"

“That’s right. Mopped the floor with them”, she said, chin high.

He blinked twice - rapidly - as if her words had left him confused. It was two blinks. A moment considered very short, but she saw her chance. With her right hand she made a lunge at him, her aim to overcome him. 

Vers was not expecting what happened next. Yon-Rogg reacted fast. He had not all lost his focus! He blocked her hand, and in one movement, he had got her other one too, and she was shoved to the side.

 _Great._ Vers clenched her teeth, because she knew she could have avoided this outcome. Now she was stuck, locked in his grip. She should have learned by now that one did not simply use a reckless move and expect to succeed. 

“Mopped the floor with them?”, he chuckled, his voice kept low because of how close he spoke to her ear. 

“That’s what I said”. Since she did not manage break free from his grip, she had to admit defeat. He loosened his grip enough for her to break free. Warmth had colored her face, and she quickly swept a hand across her forehead, wiping off beads of sweat. The effort had got to Yon-Rogg as well, but despite the subtle signs of mild tiredness, he looked as strong as ever. Yesterday he had clearly looked tired, but now he was back in the same shape as always. Fast and agile. In the same vigor and strength - if not more. 

They continued circling around each other. Vers thought back at her failed attempt to outsmart his knowledge in hand-to-hand combat. He had caught her from her right side. That was what she should strive to do herself, she had more than once already concluded. Going for his right, meant charging from her left side. She sidestepped into position.

When she had first arrived to Hala, she had clearly felt right-handed. During her Starforce training, she had come to know that the Kree were neither nor. Especially those in for the military. It was a notable advantage, to be able to use either hand equally well. Take Yon-Rogg’s team for instance, twin pistols, pair of swords and energy gauntlets - as in plural. Just like the Supremor had given her the ability to wield dual powers. Both hands. 

She had come across that piece of information, as a result from an odd observation. One day, on her first week on Hala, she had suddenly taken notice to Yon-Rogg’s writing habits. Not the writing per se, but the way he held the pencil. He may hold it however he likes, but why did it include changing the hand in which he held it?

She had thought a Skrull had surreptitiously replaced him. The words of them often making mistakes like mirroring movements when doing everyday habits, had given her suspicion support. She had then proceeded to nervously follow him around, her doubts on him being a shapeshifter making her fidgety. Fortunately, she did not need to do it for long. He had noticed her apprehension early. And to her surprise, taken her misgiving seriously. They had sat down, and he had given her a long explanation and reassurance on his authenticity. He had even encouraged her to speak her mind whenever she needed, and said he understood it could be difficult to get used to starting a new life in an unfamiliar place from scratch. 

Upon finding out her bad habit, her penchant for using her right hand when opting for precision, he had trained her diligently, pushing her almost to her limits, claiming that it all should be in her muscle memory. After an especially though day of training, she had joked something she couldn't right now remember word for word, but it had been something about still feeling 'all right'. He must have been humored over her comment, because he had doubled her sets of exercises. 

Even now, a trace of it remained. She favored her right hand to land a punch. And he knew that. Damn. She suspected that he intentionally steered her more to her left side, encouraging her to perfect that side too.

“Of course I believe you. But what did you say, how many were they again? Fifteen?”

“Fifty”. 

She knew he had meant those she had defeated or engaged in combat with. Fifty was how many she had counted, but she had not needed to fight all of them. She grinned at him. He needed to be more precise to get her to tell him that.

“Fifty?” He echoed, raising his eyebrow. A playful incredulity had appeared on his face. “With that sloppy stance?” His eyes traveled to her feet.

“What?”, she started, not really making it any further. And turns out, she did not need to figure out what he meant. The words were obvious. She had come into a halt, standing with her feet positioned in horizontal line with each other - equivalent to a complete drop in guard. A swift and low kick, and she was again down on the floor. 

“That”. 

Damn. She bit the inside of her cheek. How come talking and fighting was suddenly this surprisingly distracting? 

"Let's call it a day?" He offered a hand to her. His right hand. Vers eyed it for a moment. At first, her cheeky nature wanted to swat his hand away because hey, she could very well get up on her own, but she eventually grasped the outstretched hand. Back on same level, Vers held onto his hand, noting how well their hands fit with each other, before letting go. 

“What's next?”


	14. Stargazing once again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day may come when I don’t fill my author notes with song lyrics, but lol it’s not this day, even though this one would’ve fitted better in the previous chapter, whose author notes I totally forgot to publish, but whatever :) To live in the moment and make the best of it… 
> 
>  
> 
> _Even though I know what I'm looking for_  
>  _She's got a brick wall behind her door_  
>  _I'd travel time and confess to her_  
>  _But I'm afraid she'd shoot the messenger_
> 
>  
> 
> __  
> _Surrender - Billy Talent_  
> 

_Am I not a just ruler...?_

_Has this golden city not prospered under my reign...?_

_The Kree Empire. Most powerful state in the galaxy._

_The Kree…_

_An advantageous race they are. Strong and diligent. Technologically advanced. Capable of imagining a greater power. And to be just that one for them. Eminent._

_The good of all Kree. The collective. Above all else._

_Superior. They need something to believe. It's because of me their world go around. As I turn, they will follow to the zenith. I will give them that. THE LIGHT. Lighten their way, leaving other paths in the dark. A sense of a free will. Visions. They see as their inner desires - all reminders of what to strive for._

_Hasn't this golden city prospered under my reign? Then why does the enemy keep resisting?_

_Mission on Torfa: catastrophe. Accusers confrontation with Skrull forces: ludicrous. Our weapon: unsolved._

_Why is she alive and well? Too easy. What if they have caught wind of her powers?_

_The testing; the results. Not the energy core. Still out there._

_Surely they couldn't have let her escape on purpose. If so. They must have known of something more important. Something more powerful. Than her. What if they know about the core...?_

_..calculating…_  
Possible. Not confirmed.  
… 

_It would be a game-changer. An unwanted one. Must get the Kree ready._

_Soon…_

_...they will remember who rules this empire._

*****

The meeting hall was a long rectangular room with a high ceiling. One of many imposing buildings. Despite the beautiful architecture and the usefulness of the multi-purpose place, it stood for most of the time empty. But at this very moment, it accommodated four people, their cluster of voices filling the space. They spoke in low key and in a manner which suggested they were still waiting for someone. A fifth person. 

Yon-Rogg made his way to join them as the last one. He hardly ever arrived last. Even so, the knowledge did not bother him for he knew he wasn't late. He was actually early. The rest of them must simply have chosen to arrive extra early for this one occasion. A sudden move perhaps, but not completely unexpected. The voices ceased as he joined them. With the five of them gathered - it was all of Starforce, except Vers.

This place was bright and spacious, a reason he had made it their official meeting point at home. He had been here countless of times before, yet now the atmosphere was different. It was colder somehow. There was a certain degree of uncertainty when their voices spoke and, moreover, he could see the tension in the way they held themselves. When you work together as a team as closely as they did, it became second nature to read and know their body language. Most of them were in for the same line of thought as him. 

And maybe it was here and now when he should give vent to his doubts and express them: We can't continue in the same trajectory. I can't. He should tell them that his doubts kept interfering with his ability to craft and organize the Starforce's line of work. His duty. But none of it got said. However, something of this thought must have shown in his eyes, for one of them spoke quite promptly, "What we can make out of this, is that she’s not the core?”, disbelief passing on to fear as it was voiced.

“Indeed. So it would seem. The energy pattern is very similar, but it stops there". The commander’s expression was then, if only for a moment, distinctly troubled. He looked at each of them meaningfully before continuing. "Which means it’s still out there somewhere".

"Where do we go from here?" A pained expression surfaced as the speaker realized they apparently didn't possess the greatest weapon as they had believed. If the real core got found, and ended up in the wrong hands, tables would turn. 

"We will wait, the security measures have already been increased”. And then a pause. “The Supremor will contemplate and let us know soon enough. As before, if we stay ready, we won't have to get ready. I trust you on that."

The assembled group parted ways.

*****

Raised security meant more work for him, which in turn meant less spare time - something he often had to get used to. This week's agenda had no planned far-away missions in it; no check-ups to the border planets. However, the same procedure remained, they should be ready at call. He had planned to meet up with Vers, talk to her, but hadn’t found an appropriate occasion. Thinking about it, he hadn't run into her lately. He had only caught a glimpse of her a couple of times when he had rounded a corner. 

The next time he saw her was two days later. He had then returned from an inspection round. It had been a quick routine run to the docking tower in order to inspect the ships which were stationed there, and at the same time, go through their equipment. He had run into her in a corridor, when she was on her way back from a training of her own. He knew it by her demeanor; happy and content, her hair still in a knot at the back of her head. She had probably been perfecting a move until she knew it by heart. And on top of that, the clock was a quarter past nine - the time of day when she often went training before dusk fell. Afterwards, she was content and ready to call it a day. 

Their eyes locked in a moment of recognition- a quick but deep look. The hallway was fairly short and with each taken stride, the distance decreased. Soon, they would walk past each other, continuing on their own ways. In different directions. Just when they were about pass by each other, Vers averted her gaze forwards. They had made it four steps apart when Yon-Rogg stopped and turned around. 

”Vers, wait”, his voice sounded. 

To his credit, she stopped and turned to face him. A faint look of surprise painted her features as she considered him. His words had come instinctively; they hadn't needed to pass his consciousness. He could not remember in what voice he had expressed the words in. As his eyes met her deep brown eyes, it occurred to him, he had not really formulated what to say next. A very possible scenario - despite the abundance of thoughts on his mind. There was much he could say, many words he had long considered to say, but somehow in the end always decided against. Was this the right moment? That perfect moment he had long searched for? 

“Walk with me?” He was pleased of how natural it sounded, and all of a sudden he knew where they could go. Yon-Rogg took a moment to consider the possibility. He himself had no specific reason to go there, because, how often did you randomly take a stroll out to the rooftop? As a matter of fact, Vers was probably the only one to consider it - and who had actually done so. Thinking about it, a breath of fresh air wouldn’t be that bad. It would be nice to go there. And on top of that, it had not escaped his notice she enjoyed stargazing. This late, stars would definitely be visible. 

****

Yon-Rogg leaned against a wall and took a moment to appreciate the calm breeze of the night air. They had found their way outside and stood on the housetop. The thought of standing here with Vers again - on about the same spot where they not long ago stood - did no longer feel strange. The rain was notable by its absence, leaving the sky a perfect midnight velvet. Arms resting at her sides, she had eventually decided to adopt the same leant back posture as him. 

She had once flippantly mentioned a number of quotes. It had been three to four sentences made up of contradictory and incongruous elements. Up to this day, he wondered if she was aware they had slipped her mind. He had only been half listening at that time, but he hadn’t missed them, they were too peculiar to escape his attention. 

‘If you have no wings, fly!’

‘If you have no voice, speak!’

Why did he right now think about her words? It had happened almost a week ago. Yon-Rogg shook his head ever so slightly as if to shake the thoughts away, but they remained. His mind couldn’t simply let them go. There was something intriguing to them, they revealed her past, spoke and gave hints. 

Those first mentioned words, there was obviously more to them than met the eye. He could try to guess their meaning. As they subtly indicated, you did not always need wings to fly. She had been a superb fighter pilot, and as far as he was concerned, she still was. 

No voice, speak! He furrowed his brow in thought and considered her. Standing beside him, she had turned her gaze up towards the stars, her eyes searching the sky as if reading a map up there. In the calmness of the evening, a moment of eternity existed. He took turns watching her and the sky. Both astounding to watch in a way; equally enigmatic. 

She gave a slight smile and nudged him. She made a vague gesture upwards and looked like she was about to say something. Immersed in thought, he wondered what she had wanted to say, but lifted his gaze anyhow. The starry sky which met him reflected his thoughts: innumerable. 

To be sincere, most of his thoughts had lately more or less revolved around her, returning to their last training together. Her hand in his, and her beaming face, wondering what was next. That was precisely the problem it inevitably got down to: He didn't know what was next. And it felt hopeless. And that brought him back to his musings. If you have no hope… then what? What had her words been again? What had she told him? He studied her features as he tried to rack his head for an answer. Invent? Was it that what she had said? 

If you have no hope, invent. 

The suggestion didn’t sound too convincing. He had built their everything on sand and shouldn’t keep bettering their story. He should have realized it from the beginning. Friends or something deeper, the outcome would be the same. Maybe if the circumstances were different, if his destiny wasn’t tied, he would have commented on her eyes; He would have asked her what had lit the star shining in her eyes. 

He wondered, if she was to look him in the eyes, what would she see? Would she see a paradise which was tearing at the seams? The one he sometimes saw. Or could she learn to see him? After everything is said.

As if a sign, a shooting star crossed the star constellation’s path he had rested his gaze on.

"I think… I believe in miracles", he let out slowly. His voice was barely above a whisper, but she must've heard it. She gave a kind laughter - a laugh soft like a summer’s rain. It was sudden revelation coming from him. 

"What kind of miracles?"

The stars were still shining in her eyes and after a while of holding her gaze, he closed his eyes. Closed them in rest. He tried to grasp the fleeting moment of hope but lacked the words with which to express what he had suddenly realized. A shift in air, followed by the sound of light steps alerted him she had chosen to move closer to him. A light pressure on his shoulders confirmed it. Could it be true? Or was this just imaginary? If he was to open his eyes, would she be there? In the next moment, he felt a feathery-light peck on his forehead, and then another on his nose. When he at last opened his eyes, it was to realize she remained. She stood before him, hands still resting on his shoulders. 

"Miracle?" A small smile played on her lips. "Referring to me?"

Her forthrightness never ceased to amaze him. Slowly but surely, he had fallen for her, in the same way as the shooting star had recently done. He had come to love her humor and personality, come to love her. 

Vers hesitantly looked up at him. The emotions he saw there reflected his own. He took it for an answer and slowly leaned in. He was aware of putting his hands around her waist, before he pulled her face closer and their lips met. The kiss stole the words he didn't need to say. She saw him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _It would be really stupid not to believe in miracles_   
>  _And it would be too beautiful not to risk it_   
>  _And even if there is too much against you_   
>  _We actually know how to do better_


	15. Uni-Vers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get to wish what you see, and a little more, when a star falls from the sky.

It cannot be repeated, there would only be variations. Beauty like this, you can't find anything similar. With shortness of breath, he allowed his heart to feel. This happiness. This moment.

 

***** 

At times Yon-Rogg would wonder what her original name had been. This morning was one of those moments. Careful not to wake her, he released himself from her hand and sat up. 

At first, he had not known what to make of her. Neither was he sure if giving her a name related to her past was a good idea. And yet he had opted for her presumed name. Vers. Those four letters had been imprinted on a metal tag he had found close to her. If it really made up a part of her old name, he wanted her to keep it. The reasons had been many - most of which were selfish. He had hoped it would, in some way, preserve her characteristics. He had been astonished by her heart of courage. Her fiery and steady gaze. Her commitment. Everything. 

Vers. The name suited her. Still, he found himself toying with the thought of giving her a more Kree-like name. The metal tag he'd discovered had been torn in two, leaving the first part of her name a mystery. Adding some simple syllables, he came up with a few combinations. In-Vers. Derived from the word inverse. Not a serious possibility of course, but now considering everything, it wasn’t that far from counting as suitable. It managed to describe some events well. She had really turned his world upside down; making him question orders when he shouldn’t. He had changed. Not to mention, even her first weeks on Hala had been exceptional; out of the ordinary. He had early on taken her to see his team and let her watch from the side as they trained. But now, after considering everything, after yet again finding hope, it was crystal clear. He knew what her name could as well have been. 

Universe. 

Following his brief moment of musing, his line of thought became more bitter. He had to face reality. If things went out of hand, and she was to lose her memories again, she would hardly get a name linked to her past. It would then by all probability be the opposite way: A name as far from all of that as possible.  

Silently he watched the sleeping one. Contemplating, planning. He must had been lost in thought, for a while later, a dip in the mattress alerted him she had woken up.

“Trying to sort out yesterday, or what are you thinking?” She sat up on her knees. 

“Nothing important”, he told her. Vers tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows.

“I just thought you were a morning person. That’s all”. Now, the creases of worry lining her face softened and the thigh-lipped smile loosened as a more genuine smile took its place. Somehow her morning habits to wake up early had become a common knowledge, for he had early heard of it. What motivated her to get up at the same time every morning? Up to this day, he did not know the reason why. 

“Why do you insist to watch the sunrise?” 

She took a moment to mull over the answer. By now, she had seen it countless of times. Loads of times. Although there was little variation in the procedure, it was always as motivational each time. It was hard to explain. She felt alive when she did so. What about now? What made this time different? Well, she had found other things to be grateful towards. 

“It serves to me as a reminder there’s a tomorrow", she replied back. Curiously enough, Yon-Rogg gave a speechless nod - not exactly the reaction she had expected, but she continued nonetheless, her voice changing to a more playful tone. “But I can make an exception to that habit". She made a pause as her smile grew. "I don't think I need to watch the sunrise. Not this time. You're enough”. Oh how she loved the open-neck robe he wore - she could say it now. 

Yon-Rogg gave an audible chuckle, and she responded with a grin she hadn’t quite managed to stifle. She then chose to get up before the idea of shoving her to the floor entered his mind. Her witty remark had really been close to being an indecent one. 

A short moment later, he too chose to follow her lead and get up. He went to pick up a silvery object lying on the floor. A dagger. He remembered that Vers had tossed it away upon finding it yesterday. The metallic surface reflected light as he turned it over in his hand. Once. Twice. Vers’ eyes were drawn to the show of light. After a while of tracking the design, it occurred to her, why it looked so familiar. She knew it from before. 

"That's the same dagger as the ones on the uniform, isn't it?"

He hummed in agreement. The blade had a nice and sleek design, and from the looks of it, the dagger was all in all perfectly balanced. Seeing it reminded her of a certain fact. She had managed to lose her own pair on her latest mission. 

"Okay, if I got this right”, she began, and he lifted his gaze from his hands. “You have one of them in your room, as a pre-” 

“As a precaution”, he filled in, and Vers briefly wondered if he ever had had to use it. Had something ever happened, or nearly happened? He had a high ranking after all, being the commander and all. Moreover, she knew from his character he liked to be cautious. It had been funny to find it amongst the furnishing of the room. He avoided unnecessary risks when possible. 

“You told me you only have one on your uniform. Why only one?”

“I only need one”, came the reply. The obvious reply had her rolling her eyes, but she refrained from commenting she could do him one better and get by with zero. Because unfortunately, her daggers’ absence wasn’t much to brag about. The reason had nothing to do with her skills in combat, but rather the fact that she had lost both of hers. 

“Where is it hidden then?” He arched an eyebrow, and she clarified her sentence. “You have a different design on your armor. Is it on your arm?”

He really shouldn’t answer that. Not only did it go against the logic of keeping advantageous facts to oneself, it also stood in conflict with the cautious side of him. And also, a feeling told him he should not relinquish another secret to her. He had already given her enough pieces of him for her to guard. 

They were on the same team, but he wasn’t obligated to tell her. Was she even apt to ask him that question? He should simply brush it aside with the comment ‘find out on our next mission’. Or simply ignore it. But something gave him pause, and in the end he answered sincerely. It was on his left wrist. 

****

A couple of minutes of talking followed. It would have been nice to let the moment stretch on, but sunrise had already arrived. However tempting, they couldn't stand there and watch the sun climb up the celestial sphere. Eventually, they had to start with today’s tasks.

And so, they went separate ways. While striding along the hallways, Yon-Rogg pondered why he had said what he had said. To lay himself open like that. Was this some kind of last-ditch effort of him? A desperate attempt to break his fall? But what fall? There was no fall. The outlook for the future seemed alright.

There was much to keep up with, the latest being the fact Vers wasn't their presumed energy core. He could see her surging cosmic powers before him, and the image made the statement feel unbelievable. All this time, he had believed he had retrieved Kree’s greatest potential. And yet, even when proven wrong, it felt like a relief: The new turn had sparked hope in him. If they found the core, less pressure would be put on Vers. But his joy had soon ebbed away, when he realized that the Supremor wasn’t exactly in on the same line as him.

'To what end?', the Supreme's voice echoed in his head. His voice. He let out a sigh. Life was strange. Everything which went around, came around.  And in the end, you only said your own words. ‘Your admiration is only for yourself…’ But did that make sense? An eternal question, just like the question whether the light or the dark came first. 

The sentence stood out like a cloud on a clear sky. If he didn’t know better, he’d say those words had been put in his mouth. But it couldn't be that way, could it? The easy way out was to admit he had first spoken those words. Convinced those words to himself in front of a mirror, as a part of his unwavering devotion. 

The Supremor was there to guide them. An impartial advisor. Wasn’t that the very concept? A clear and transparent system? It shouldn’t know who he respected the most. 

However, an unchangeable fact remained. Vers was part of Starforce now. A plan had been forming in his head, and damn if he did, and damn if he didn't. He would get back her uniform. Currently it was locked away, as it got confiscated after the Torfa failure.

He went to retrieve it. A decision to take the situation in his own hands. He had confidence in himself that he was doing the right thing. Then why did he feel like he was deviating from common principles? His steps were somewhat rigid as he set his course towards the storage hall. If he had seen somebody else doing this in a video footage it would have been crazy. He felt a fright-mixed delight. It was a silent act of defiance. He did not dare to disobey the Supreme Intelligence openly.

****

With part of today’s plans fulfilled, he directed his steps to Vers’ room, he had something to give her. Turns out he wasn’t the only one who had set that location as destination. A small group of people had gathered outside her door - which stood ajar. He recognized a few members of his team, some Accusers and, what he concluded to be random passers-by. 

What's the meaning of this? Relatively fast, he got an explanation. The very lead of the Accusers approached him, and it was easy to deduce he was irritated. Ronan's appearance spoke volumes: Neck tendons standing out and a tight gaze.   

“The weapon? Where is she?” At this query, it was hard for Yon-Rogg not to return an angry look and try to glare him down, because they had all agreed that Vers and weapon shouldn’t be synonyms with each other. Outwardly he tried to look as unfazed as he could.

“What do you want from her?” A few of hours ago, he had seen her. It had been on the second floor. She had mentioned she planned to hit the gym, and he had in turn replied he could join her later. There had been others around which meant he was not the last one to see her. 

“Not I”, was the reply, which led to another possibility. The Supreme Intelligence. It sounded credible, given that another meeting between the S.I. and Vers had been planned in the near future. 

“She can’t duck away like that. I'm telling you, she’s a loose cannon the way she is. Unmanageable”

“Maybe you simply lost her? She’s smarter than you think. What if she never came here to begin with?” 

"She did". His expression was stony - as usual - but Yon-Rogg still doubted the credibility of his words. Most likely, Ronan hadn’t actually found her and therefore not bothered to continue his search for her. Instead passing on the order to him. On further thought, it wouldn’t be that far-fetched to think he had only wanted to make her appear disrespectful to the public. Everything could simply be a provocative attempt to make her seem like she ignored orders of authority - a fact Yon-Rogg found alarmingly close to be true.

“When you find her, tell her the Supremor has summoned her”. It was a small alleviation of the situation that Ronan then made his leave. But to Yon-Rogg, the irritation still lingered in the air. He chose to dismiss the gathered crowd, save his teammates. Excess people were to no use anyway. It was all unnecessary drama.

“How long has she been gone? - presumably been gone?”, he asked as he seized up the room. This could not be too serious. Certainly she was somewhere else. There were many locations she could reside in. It was a huge building, and the throngs of people at this peak hour made it complicated to spot one another. 

“Ten minutes from what I could gather. And it’s true, there’s no sign of her anywhere.”

Yon-Rogg crouched down to inspect a chair. There was nothing denoting to a fight of any kind. Her room was peaceful. A pile of neatly folded clothes rested on a stool, and the bed was carefully made. No signs of hurry met the eye. In its orderliness it was like a copy of his room, but mirrored in the fitment, and smaller. For all the reasons, this situation sounded exaggerated. They were looking for her in the wrong place. The more reassuring and normal details which met his eyes, the more convinced he became of his theory. Ronan hadn’t from the start seen her come here. Vers was safe somewhere else and would turn up soon. Right? 

He sent away the others in his team to do another search in the building. They left after a short moment of hesitation. He remained. 

Even though it was unfruitful, he focused his senses a second time on his surroundings. And it was then he noticed something slightly off in the situation. The air. Not the peaceful atmosphere itself, but the temperature. It was cool in the room - unusually so in comparison to the hallway. Off by several degrees. How could it be? It was as if a window had stood wide open for a while. He went over to inspect the panel of glass, but his fingers found nothing out of the ordinary. No cracks or anything. The pane was intact. The way it was right now, the window was set to transmit as much light as possible. 

And neither could the cold have to do with the air conditioning. It was on low effect, the whir of fans barely audible in the quiet. How strange. But not everything could have an explanation to it. 

Casting a final eye about the room, he turned to leave, but he did not make it especially far. He froze mid-stride. And he just stared. How could he only now have noticed it? Eyes nailed on the detail, he did not believe his eyes, did not want to. But it was really there. And what was worst, he _knew_ the detail hadn’t been there before. A nice and sleek design. Perfectly balanced. There, on her bedside table, lay an identical copy to the one in his room. A dagger. The same type of dagger he had only moments ago retrieved along with her uniform. They were to be given back to her as a sign she was back on his team, back in the game. Confusion wrestled with fear within him as he tried to understand where she had gotten her hands on it. She shouldn’t have this object here. Not yet. This scene, it happened ten minutes too early - as if a time warp had struck the room. 

Then, the pieces began to click into place. And it felt as if something in him would break.


	16. As the world falls down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all comments on the prev chapter 😊 They mean very much to me. Some interesting theories you got there. And as usual, you get a nice song lyrics as author note, this time from Silver Lining by Hurts:
> 
> “There's a storm on the streets, but you still don't run. Watching and waiting for the rain to come”

Vers shivered from excitement. She had by routine taken a workout. At the shoulder press equipment, she placed her hands on the grip to show it how strong she was. The gym was a perfect place to release some extra energy. When satisfied with the exercise, she moved on to next equipment, one that recently got free. "Okay, so the previous one could do quite many repeats, let's see if I can beat that", she thought as she sat down.

Her mental challenge never failed to inspirit her: She liked to compete with other gym visitors, if ever unofficially. Because there were others. Most of the gym visitors trained for themselves, but she noticed that some were observing her. Watched her. She took a quick glance as she let her arms return to starting position. "Three of them", she deduced.

They were unfamiliar to her, so it was unlikely they had their knives out for her. Then it was okay to simply ignore them. She breathed in and breathed out. As she had thought, eventually they parted and so she stuffed it to the back of her mind. "Dorsal region next" she decided and moved on to the next station.

She sat down at the pulldown station and grabbed the bar, her grip just beyond shoulder width. "Seriously" she thought as she moved the bar towards her chest. Every now and then she checked the other side of the room and could tell that one of the men still observed her. Not a very subtle manner. It had a bad effect on her concentration, she noted as her powers picked up on her irritation.

Did he want to challenge her or what? No good idea. She let out a forced breath. If he pulled off something foul and she answered with a photon blast, there would be consequences. Consequences for her. She found it better to round her training up. Actually, she could do some stretching - in her room- she puffed.

*****

The door closed behind Vers harder than she had expected, making her jump in surprise. She had opened the door gently and had planned to close it as calmly. Not with a bang. With her muscles tense and on alert, she searched for the cause. She was ready to react, if she only knew what to react on. Her eyes landed on the explanation. Cross-draft. The farther window stood open, and the difference in air temperature had made the door slam shut the way it had done. 

How strange... Cautiously she walked closer. Vers was dead certain she hadn't left the window open. As a matter of fact, she didn't even know it could be opened. She had tried a few times but hadn't really figured out how. Back then, she had had to find another way out. But now the glass had disappeared. Altogether. Gone, as if it had never existed. 

A soft breeze filled the room, and as it passed by, it gently tugged on her hair. Despite the cool undertone, the breeze felt pleasant. She could get used to having the window open more often. 

A strange feeling of déjà vu overcame her. The gust of wind reminded her of a time long ago. She could see it before her. Details from a long-forgotten past. Flimsy pieces of fabric - curtains? - swaying in the breeze. And also, decorative ornaments hanging from the ceiling. Decked out with white quills, they used to paint a latticework of shadows. She couldn't quite recall the name. At least, it had ended with catcher. The term was probably because the ornament had an element shaped like a cobweb. She sent a dreaming look over the room. Right now, there were no shadows here. Bright afternoon light from the window made the room well lighted.

Something glimmered in the light. With the same dreamful look, she recalled there used to be glass beads sparkling in bright colors.

Another glimmer in the corner of her eye had her turning around. It wasn't her imagination. The spot of reflected light came from beside her bed. A pair of silvery objects laid on her table. And as she drew nearer, she recognized them to be daggers. Two identical. 

A cold feeling filled her chest. These sharp weapons made it too many scary things in one picture. She was no stranger to warnings, and perhaps she was looking at one now. She didn't feel certain though. Even when eyeing the shiny blades, they didn't feel threatening at all. It was as if they were placed in a natural way, naturally laying on her table.

She picked up one of them and couldn't help but to offer a faint smile. This had to be Yon-Rogg's doing. He was most likely thinking of her and had brought them as a replacement for her old ones. And also, he probably wanted her to adopt his habit. A considerate thought of him, but it still felt over the top.

Once. Twice. She turned over the dagger in her hand. It had a feeling of familiarity to it. Down to every detail, it was exactly like she remembered her old ones to be. But these were of course a copy. She would never see her original pair again. 

Vers was just about to put it down, when she noticed a defect in the glossy surface. She scraped a nail over the smudge of dirt, but the uneven spot did not go away. It was then she noticed it wasn't dirt - it was a thin line of engraved script. Barely discernible, she had almost mistaken it for a mark of wear and tear.

Intrigued, she instantly turned her eyes on the task of reading the text. To make out what was engraved turned out to be tricky. The high-gloss surface of the blade refused to cooperate. Very easily, she found her focus drawn to her own reflection. While at it, she took a moment to inspect the image she saw. The same excitement she felt was reflected in her eyes. They had widened imperceptibly, and a new clarity shone in them. Vers blinked a couple of times, but concluded it was impossible to make out what colors her eyes shifted in. 

After a while, when her eyes had learned to shut out the distraction, she started to make out the message. The signs were not exactly Kree glyphs, but numbers and arrows. Vers tilted her head at the cryptic turn of events. This was some kind of route guidance - that was for sure. But where did it lead to? 

A shiver of excitement pricked her skin. She loved adventures. This challenge came perfectly at call. After making mental notes of the first message, she went to pick up the other one. She inspected it with the same focus as she had recently done. To her surprise, the other dagger had the exact same message engraved. She frowned. Nothing told them apart. It was as if whoever had put the message there wanted to be on the safe side, and make sure she couldn't miss it. A second chance would remain if she failed to notice the first one. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, as her frown threatened to turn into a smile. This was a bad excuse of a joke. She wasn't _that_ blind. Sure, she sometimes had a tendency to miss details - a fact Yon-Rogg had more than once pointed out. But that was years ago. It certainly was not a timely issue anymore. 

She picked up the other one again and weighed both of them in her hands. Both were equally cold to the touch. Both held the same road description - down to every arrow and sign. There was no difference between them. And if there was no difference between them, it meant she could leave one of them behind. It found its place back on her bedside table.

With her small metallic map in her grip, she left. 

****

The tracks led to the outskirts of the city - just as Vers had expected. Prior to leaving, she had noticed some numbers indicated relatively large distances. It could only mean her final destination was away from the city parts. 

With every step taken, her feeling that something was off grew. Feelings of uncertainty mixed with her joy of adventure. Something told her, this couldn't be Yon-Rogg's arrangement. The clues did not really fit in with him. The cloak and dagger mystique, the uncertainty. And further adding to the mystique, the window had sort of materialized behind her. Not following normal procedures at all. It had effectively shut her out, leaving her no option but to follow the clues. Was it too much wishful thinking of her to hope that this was Yon-Rogg’s arrangement? Maybe a bit. But from what he’d said to her earlier, the scenario wasn’t too unthinkable. Well, she’d soon find out. This was the last line of directions. 

Vers came to a stop. After double checking she had got the directions right, she scanned the place. She had followed the guidance correctly. This was the place. It was a moor of some kind. Empty looking, save a couple of trees. The more she looked around, the more she became convinced this was an odd choice of place. Several times she saw bright lights bobbing up and down. They seemed to float in midair. Very eerie - they did not seem to abide by the laws of gravity. She wasn't sure what those lights were. A long time ago she might have called them ghost lights. Whatever they actually were, the old name managed to describe this phenomenon well. Ghost lights really had a ring to it. 

“Pilot Danvers?”, a voice called out.

Vers spun around in the sound’s direction. ‘Dan-Vers?’ she thought. She didn’t know anyone with that name. Her gaze landed on a person standing a few paces away. Because of the brightness, Vers had to shade her eyes to make out the person in front of her.

“Supreme Intelligence!” she exclaimed as she could make out the person’s features.

A mixture of surprise and happiness spread over the woman’s face at the exclamation. She took some casual steps forwards. Vers quickly put her head down in a bow, as that was the first instinct that came to mind. She didn’t know it was possible to meet it in the real world. Vers blinked up at it to see if she could believe her eyes. And true enough, there the woman stood, in a very alive and familiar form. Vers could feel her own pounding heartbeat as she took in the details: Starforce uniform, short platinum colored hair and kind eyes blazing back at her.

“Or should I call you captain Danvers?” it asked with anticipation.

”What did you call me?"

"Danvers. It’s your name". The syllables were pronounced in a steady and clear way. 

"No, it’s not. It’s Vers", she corrected and started to feel unsure. 

The woman stood still in a very patient way for a while. Probably contemplating in which way to turn vast and supreme thoughts into words.

"You're right, perhaps you are no longer Danvers", the elder woman eventually admitted. It then reached out a hand and brought it to its chest. "And neither am I who I appear to be".

Vers drew in a sharp breath. “Could it be…” she thought in pure wonder. If this person in front of her wasn't their leader… A feeling of understanding hit her, and she found herself swallowing against a lump in her throat. Could this be the real person then? Could she be standing eye to eye with the person who had meant so much to her a long time ago? Endless of thoughts kept stumbling in her conscious, making her feel numb. All impressions that tugged at her made it hard to decide what to do next. Run forwards and embrace her, or feel overwhelmed and sink to her knees? She hadn’t put any plan to action, before the woman clad in Starforce uniform leaned forward and a sheen washed over her.

Vers flinched back from the sudden change. Within a few seconds, the person had taken on a new form - a green one.

“You!”, Vers said and felt a clear dizziness. Gone was the woman from her past. Now, the very Skrull she had met on her recent mission was standing in its place. Vers had widened her eyes in chock, but a moment later, she let her eyebrows sink down to send a narrowed look. 

“You”, Vers said again, her voice steadier than from before. She clenched her teeth together. If this turned out to be a deceptive trap, she would fight. 

"Indeed. We have met before. Now on your home turf.” The Skrull casted a troubled eye about the surroundings. “Even if it poses a risk to me.”

Taking their thousand-year-long war into consideration, it was highly unexpected to see him here on Hala, the capital planet of the Kree empire, his enemy's greatest stronghold. This should put her on alert. “Why have you come" Vers demanded. 

”To talk. And I come unarmed, as my true self.”

“And you think I'll sit back and listen?"

“I do. Because it concerns you. You're not the core they seek.”

His words didn’t make sense to her. The statement only made Vers feel puzzled. She had to stay cautious, in case this was a trick or something. “Lucky for you", she challenged.

“No, for it means your life's in danger". Serious eyes made Vers' muscles involuntarily tensed up.

“And it worries you?” Vers did not manage to make the connection. This had to be the longest conversation she had ever had with a Skrull. 

“You're part of a greater picture. We, my faction and I, are convinced you're a key in all of this. We are curious about your background. The woman. Mar-Vell. We saw that you and she-" 

“I know no Mar-Vell”, Vers interrupted him. 

To her surprise, the Skrull general did not seem to be affected by her cold rebuke. He smiled and closed his eyes. "We want to help you remember”. When he looked up, a sliver of hope shone in them. “-Because she exists in you”, he continued. “You have no clue how joyful it makes me that you apparently see her when you visit the Intelligence".

Slowly but surely, the puzzle pieces began falling into place. The mysterious woman whose appearance he had adapted, her name was consequently Mar-Vell. But no bells of recognition rang. Even then, there was something highly credible about it. This Skrull must have met her before, how else would he be able to take her form? The same person who had been important in her life. Vers noticed she wanted to hear more. He seemed reliable. Not the enemy she had at first considered him to be. She leant in. 

“Mar-Vell was supposed to help us escape this endless war. Said she was close to a solution. But something happened". Genuine sadness laced his words as he came to a stop before continuing. "We never heard of her and had to assume the worst. Desperately we have searched for clues. And then we met you. Mar-Vell is in your head. Why?"

Vers opened her mouth to speak but did not come up with an answer. Talos continued on. 

"You're part of Starforce - just like her." He looked at her intently. "You have cosmic powers. And do you know what Mar-Vell experimented on? A lightspeed engine. The similarities are astounding. How come you know nothing of this?" He made a brief pause and took some more cautious steps forwards. "Let me say, I think they have left you in the dark".

*****

She stood there before him. At the moment unmoving. The atmosphere around them started changing and Talos glanced up towards the sky. The sunshine had disappeared and clouds had come to cover the sky. When he watched her, he thought she looked like she weighted the possibility to lash out at him. Red glowing fists, just as he remembered them. Now if ever, he started to regret his decision. Had he overseen something? She looked like she was struggling with herself. Her heart may beat blue, but he was sure he had found the right person who had once shared Mar-Vell’s beliefs. All that remained, was to see if she could be convinced. 

"You mentioned an energy core. What about it?", she asked at last. 

Talos relaxed somewhat on the inside. She was in on the right line of thoughts, and he could continue his mission. Throughout their conversation, he made sure to keep his calm and confident posture. "A theory. It plays down to you're the missing link", Talos said. "We are looking for Mar-Vell’s energy core and Kree are after it too. Neither of us know where it's located. But you - your memories - are a direct link to it.”

If only he could get her to understand. Open up her eyes. It was important for her to understand - see it from his point of view. He chose to say it as it was. “You’re their next best thing. But they want more. The Kree are blinded by their lust for power-”

“You’re neither free from fault!” Vers put some distance between them and planted her feet steadily on the ground. “I’ve seen reports about what you have done, your deeds...”, she shook her head.

Talos contemplated her reaction. It was to be expected, he could understand the situation. He knew by now that one easily become a product of the environment. Therefore he loved to see that she still would question, still would doubt. He thought of why he had come. He had a message. 

"Judge me only by my actions and my words, not by the words of others. I have made mistakes… but I do what I do because it must be done, and because there is no other who would”. He wondered how much she remembered from their conversation. “No other that could”, he added.

As his words seemed to sink in, he dared to continue. “We are not all the same. We may be united in our devotion to stand up against Kree rule, but other generals and I don’t agree on how it is to be achieved”. More carefully he said “I see similarities in you. The Supreme is not above seizing riches without giving anything in return. But you could be so much more”.

"Wait, you claim my powers were not handed to me by the Supremor?" 

"Is it that what they told you?" Creases appeared on his forehead when he mulled over the possibility. "The device you carry is not the source, no. I'm convinced your powers stem from within you".

"That means this chip..." her hands reached towards her neck.

"An inhibitor”, he shrugged.

The Kree warrior sank to her knees and stared at her palms. Some rivulets of heat seemed to travel up her wrists. “The Kree have used me”, she said slowly. “It is they who…” For some reason she could not bring herself to finish the sentence.

Talos drew in a deep sigh. Overhead, the clouds had started to draw together, and soon they had formed dark clusters. He glanced at the hunched figure on the ground. The energy had found its way up to her eyes, and the result tinted her eyes a darker tone. He felt tendrils of fear slither into his conscious. Surely she couldn’t have caused the clouds to be painted in black and made the wind rustle through the grass? He disliked the thought of her being the reason why he felt shivers down his spine. It was then he noticed it. 

“Somebody is coming”, he let her know. 

Vers turned her attention towards the low sound and came to control her powers. “The dagger. Just maybe I left it in my room”, she said slowly. She straightened up and immediately looked more confident. The thick aura which he would have described as ill-boding left her, but her eyes remained the same.

“You might want to step back” she told him.


	17. I'm counting on you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the lyrics of Ghost lights by Woodkid softly playing in my mind, I wrote this chapter. And lol, not because of the nearly melancholy song text, but because I simply like the singer’s voice. Really, you got to believe me ;) 
> 
> // _How ever fast I dance to make the sun shine. I will never fall down. No matter what it takes, I'll try to save the ghost lights ___

He widened his eyes as if the mere thought was completely new and unreasonable. Vers was gone and in her stead, one of the missing daggers turned up. Yon-Rogg wanted to be wrong but he close to knew who must have placed it there. Skrulls. The blood iced in his veins. The fear was not due to the knowledge that their sworn enemy was here. No. Vers would be able to handle another encounter with them - of that he was sure. She was well-trained and strong, and he had full reliance on her. Problem was, it was exactly reliance it all came down to, namely the reliance on him. It could be on the risk of bursting. What actually scared him was the fact it was Vers they had especially singled out. Out of all people on Hala, why did it have to be her? Nothing good could ever come if the shapeshifters had ventured coming here. By all accounts, something big was going on. 

With a sweaty hand, he turned over the dagger. An inscription. In the corner. Despite the mirror-surface, his eyes could without difficulty make out what was written. It was some kind of route guidance and he was prepared to follow it. There was no time to lose. 

*****

A desolate landscape. Every so often, he would pass by a couple of vague and dim lights - not that kind of light he was looking for. He cast a last glance at his glassy map before tucking it away. He picked up the pace. Apparently, it was towards the centre of the moor he had to make his way to. The clouds had overhead started to draw together, and it made the small floating lights pop up more noticeably. Very soon, he spotted Vers. 

With her back to him, she stood there with her own map as well. She looked around the place and seemed to inspect her surroundings. The sight of her familiar movements made him feel relieved. She couldn’t have run into Skrulls as of yet. Because it was Vers, right? He approached her with cautious steps which she evidently registered. Although she had noticed him, she did not give him much attention. When he had drawn close enough, she turned around to face him. 

“I found my way”, she said with a smile which did not fully reach her eyes. She then shrugged and laid down her weapon in the grass. Yon-Rogg followed every move with a watchful gaze. Vers took a few steps in the direction of the floating lights. “What are they?”, she wanted to know. One of the luminent spots disappeared in a flash of light as she tried to close her hands around it. 

“Some claim they are glimpses of hope which want to lead you where you cannot reach”, he answered. “Whilst other claim they are only a natural phenomenon.”

“And you? What do you believe?”, she asked when he joined her side. Her voice sounded flat - mirthless in a way - and it made him wonder if she was interested in his answer at all. For some reason it hurt. 

“We shouldn’t be here”, he said instead. Yon-Rogg seized her wrist in a try to get her moving, but she did not leave her spot. Vers planted her feet steadily on the ground and indicated she did not intend to be dragged away. 

“We have to talk.”

“Somewhere else. Not here”. They had to get away he thought. The Skrulls could show up at any given moment. But she seemed to be upset, he could feel that. 

“Yes. Exactly here and now.” The sharp undertone in her voice made him quickly release her wrist. He snatched back his own hand as if he had got burnt, even if that wasn’t the case. His hurried reaction made her give a disdainful snort. “Exactly”, she said and sent a piercing look. “Of course I’ve had time to meet the one who laid out the tracks”. Her voice was close to insensitive and when she crossed her arms it felt like a barrier had been raised between them. And then everything stood clear. She had lied to him with her scene. Only moments ago, she had been in contact with the Skrulls, and now the two of them stood eye to eye with each other. And she waited for an answer. From him. Demanded an explanation. Because she had started to figure out what had been left unsaid. 

*****

Time seemed to hang suspended for a long moment, though only a second or two probably passed. Their eyes locked in a silent battle. 

“Vers. I’m truly sorry. Let-”

“I trusted you. Starforce. Everything? I..”, She did not let him finish the sentence. Everything around her was incomprehensible. She felt how she was losing her perception. The world reeled around, and the horizon was no longer there as a support for her blurry vision. 'That blasted chip', she thought and reached a hand towards it, feeling for the edges with her nails. 

“No!”

Yon-Rogg realized what was about to happen and wanted nothing less than to freeze the time. Like lightning, he threw himself towards her. And next thing Vers knew, he was at her side with a convulsive grip around her wrist. The surprise took Vers’ breath away, but she recovered quickly enough. Reflexively, she grabbed the arm hindering her from breaking free from his grasp. With growing strength, she tried to shake herself loose, fight to be free, but her commander did not yield. 

“You don’t understand”, he hissed through gritted teeth. And she truly did not. She was so fed up with everything. So done. And maybe he was too. He wore his uniform of an armor, but that would not hinder her. With concentrated powers, she directed energy to her fist and squeezed his hand. As the armor begun to take the toll, she felt like she would make it. But it felt wrong. Her fists were glowing in intensity, but he remained unwavering. Couldn’t he simply give up? 

“Give in!”, she shouted at him. Her ears rang and nothing changed. She could still feel that her hand got twisted behind her, making it impossible for her to reach her neck. Se would so tear off the chip - the Kree's hold on her. Her ears were buzzing and his warnings that it could be dangerous, couldn’t be this easy, went right over her head. Squeezing her hand for all she was worth, she surely had already burnt through his vambrace. The knowledge made her momentarily pause. Why did he still hold on even though it hurt him? 

Their battle of wills drained on their powers. They were almost equally breathless. “I won’t... see you suffer ...that explosive blaze again.”, Yon-Rogg managed to get out between breaths. 

Vers widened her eyes. A blue flame flashed before her eyes - a flashback. Blue radiant flares which were left hanging in the air. Long had she wondered what she had always seen in her dreams. Now she no longer had to wonder. She turned back to her commander. He had revealed something of her past: What she always had wanted to hear. Tears burned in her eyes, and in one single move, she relinquished her grasp on the chip, gripped his forearm and hurled him over. He gasped and let go of her. 

“Was it a Skrull attack? It’s a yes or no question.”

“It’s complicated.”

“To answer yes or no?”

Yon-Rogg turned away his gaze. “Skrull attack?”. He closed his eyes to escape her force field. If she looked at him like that, he could not get any sensible thought in mind. He took a deep moment to find an answer to her complicated question. Ultimately, it was due to the lizard-like enemies she had crashed; because she had flown in the same plane as Mar-Vell. But his mission had been the renegade Kree soldier. Not her. That meant, a Skrull attack, but not directly.

When he pushed himself up into sitting position, he caught sight of what he knew had been out there. One of the Skrull generals. By the looks of it, it was apparently Talos. Yon-Rogg got up. Leader of Starforce as he was, his first instinct would have been to draw his weapon, but not this time. He would not pay attention to him. It was Vers he owed an explanation.

Too many times he had replayed the scenario where she would rip off the control device. Replayed the uncertain scenarios like broken videotapes in his head. He had bad feelings about what could happen if you tried to remove it recklessly. Just like that without warning. And because of that he had been ready to react, even though it happened all of a sudden. Most importantly; he had succeeded. But how come the continuance never appeared before him? It was all blank, as if a screen was there and blocking his sight. Still the words came to him. He told how Mar-Vell’s energy source had been his mission. That Vers had been the innocent part. How she had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Because she had been teamed up with Mar-Vell, even she had been standing between him and his mission. Despite being the last one standing, she had stood with great courage and looked him dead in the eye, not backing off.

“You would have defied the whole world if needed”, he let her know. When he again looked up at her, he saw that the same description still held true. The same intensity shone in her eyes as back then - the same vitality which even now stole his breath away. "For the first time I hesitated. That small gap was all you needed. You blew up the light-speed engine, causing a nuclear blast. It gave you your cosmic powers. You created yourself.”

“And Mar-Vell?”

“She was once one of my most trusted companions - until the point she betrayed me. I had to act”. When the last word passed his lips, Vers’ eyes flashed in an unnatural way. It was out of question to try to read what emotions reigned inside her. The Skrull general had also drawn itself nearer he noted. But he would pay it no attention, it was Vers he had to focus on. 

“Think Vers, Think! She would have let the mightiest weapon fall into the wrong hands!”. Yon-Rogg paled at the thought. Was this the moment she would condemn his whole planet and wish to see it in a deep abyss? He sincerely hoped he could get her to open her eyes to his truth. The way it was. His thoughts got interrupted when the lizard-like creature addressed them. 

“And this is why we continue to run in circles. Deceit from every corner, or more accurately, hidden intentions. Mar-Vell never wanted the energy source to be used in wars, but to end them”. Talos must have considered himself to be safe through Vers, because he stepped up behind her. From there, he watched the two Starforce elites, even if his eyes mostly rested on Yon-Rogg. “I'm not here to lay blame on anyone, as I too have done..." Talos seemed to be searching for words. "-Questionable things. Yet I have always hoped that the ends justify my means.”

*****

‘Make it undone. Impossible’, his mind confirmed. 

He felt his legs moving beneath him. It felt unreal, like he was observing himself from above. He took a couple of more steps further away and bent down. It stung in his hand as he found what he was looking for.

‘Love me the most when I deserve it the least. -Changes nothing’, his heart whispered. 

For long they had been standing all three talking. Talos had told them they were ready to leave and that he needed Vers’ help. At a guess, he thought that her memories would soon be restored, as good as they could be. Yon-Rogg hadn’t raised any objections despite that Talos had said he was going back to C-53 in order to find the space pod. It was hard to react when you feel like a hollow shell. Yet he seemed to act as expected. His practice as commander remained and he kept pointing out logical moves. He was functioning, but still felt empty on the inside.

Yon-Rogg had asked Talos for exchanging a couple of words with Vers. To bid farewell, that is. When he got to her, it was with her Starforce uniform in his arms. They stood silently for a while, with her looking at the armor. Slowly, she accepted it. He waited to feel his moral sense turn against him. He breathed in. No feelings of guilt raged at him like a rock avalanche. He breathed out. Not one jolt of regret passed through him. Had he accepted that he had chosen to stand by her side? 

Drops of water started to slowly fall from the sky. A moment he thought of her. Of them. A thought flew past. They could escape. Away. Anywhere. Just off. But he knew better, she was meant for so much more. He inclined his neck. Scents he did not usually notice hung in the air. Blood, sweat and tears. He trusted Vers, she wasn’t as tangled up in this misery as he was. “You have to visit another dimension”, he said and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. “Only there you can remove it”. When he pulled back his hand, he brushed softly against her neck. She held her breath when she understood the true meaning behind his words. 

There wasn't much more to say, or rather, there was, so much, more than perhaps he ever could, but the words were missing. But in his thoughts, he had told her everything. That he stood by her side. That she would be fine, and she could trust him. He would buy her the needed time so she could leave when it came to it. 

*****

Talos came back after a while. The steps he took were hurried and reminded them that time was of the essence. He stopped beside the lone Kree and looked around. As his eyebrows furrowed, more grooves formed on his face than what was there from before. “Where is she?”

“She has left.“

“Left? What do you mean?”, Talos asked and did not know if he was to look betrayed or confused. It ended up as a mix of those two. 

“Our empire is the most influential one in the galaxy and our borders continue to expand. We are looking everywhere but can’t find anything that would remain satisfying. Something that would show that we are on the right track. And so, we continue to grow”, Yon-Rogg uttered and loosened his interlaced fingers. Their color was close to white. 

“Yes. The way I see it, you need an enemy to justify your actions.” Talos sent a sidelong glance. “Take it from someone who knows”, he further added and tried to keep a neutral tone in his voice. 

“However, no one seems to know what this something is”, Yon-Rogg continued and fanned out his arms “My whole life I’ve blindly chased for more, followed what was expected of me. But nothing seems to be enough, there’s always more. Something more.”

“The energy core for instance?”, Talos helped in an irritated manner.

Yon-Rogg looked accusingly at Talos. “If we find it, it will mean the end for her. We won’t be able to control both. She’s our next best thing.”

"So where is she headed?", Talos repeated with a whole new severity. 

“I think I see it now… I won’t need to search any longer.” A short pause followed as Yon-Rogg gazed up towards the sky. When he yet again looked at Talos, his eyes were bright with unshed tears. “Have you any idea how hard it is to let your loved one go?” 

“I have.” The answer came as a low growl from his throat. “For the last time, where did she go.”

For a split second, Yon-Rogg felt a connection to him. But that shouldn’t be possible. They were sworn rivals, sympathy should not be possible. Still it was there like a thread of hope in the dark. "To the chamber. Said she wanted to fix a certain thing. Probably to have the chip removed."

*****

“Could the Supreme Intelligence possibly be the root of all evil?”, she tentatively wondered and thought about what Talos had said about the Kree, that they were lost on their way, but that there was nothing to be done. Was there a bit of truth in those words? She had to find out the truth because-.... Vers stopped in her tracks. The stakes in all of this were bigger than she could comprehend. To be logical, she could just go, turn her back and leave. But if nothing was done, this war could go on another thousand years. Maybe she could not stop it, but at least, it felt as she was meant to try. 

With a resolute face she braced herself. What she tried next could as well mean the end of everything she knew. Next thing she registered was stepping up on the raised tile and letting blue cords find their way up her body. 

*****

"Such determination to get here. And on your own will and everything. It seems we share more qualities than you think." The voice reached her, filled her head, before she saw the virtual form of the one. Not that much had changed since last time. It had taken the same form, but the pitch was different. 

"No. I'm nothing like you." Vers clenched her teeth. Talos had already before draw the same parallel, but she refused to see any alikeness between them.

"Do you think so? Hmm... we'll get to that”. Mar-Vell - no - the Supreme Intelligence strode forwards, which revealed her features from the bright backdrop. “I notice you’re upset over... -the implant”. She turned towards Vers with open arms. “My apologies, but it was necessary to help you control your powers. You understand, I couldn’t let you go to waste. On Hala you were reborn. My plan has all along been to help you overcome your limitations.”

“Enough chatter, I know what you are doing. Pulling the strings with your words”. The smile which was plastered over her observer’s face looked far from welcoming and her warm eyes were replaced with steel. “You have always had such potential, Vers. Even now, you are the embodiment of everything I preach.”

“I won’t be your instrument.”

“It is a shame you cannot see the value of joining me. The things we could accomplish together…”. The words had been enticing in the start, but now...

“That sounds evil”, Vers found herself admitting. 

“Evil?”, the Supremor said, scolding her. “There is no such thing as good and evil. Only perspective.” 

”And your perspective is?”, Vers asked, a bit fearful of the answer. She had her forebodings and had slowly started to figure out her own role in all of this. 

“The Kree evolution has stagnated”, it replied simply. "I had hoped this war could get cogwheels turning. But no. It seems like something more is needed.”

It all sounded wrong. For more than one reason. They were talking about a whole population, but it was like they were discussing business over a cup of tea. “Who do you think you are? A god?” Vers shook her head in condemnation. 

“What is a god? Unlimited power? Faithful followers? A pack of lies?”, the S.I. replied and Vers smiled a bitter smile. Maybe it wasn't a smart move to blurt out the first thing to appear in mind, but she did it nonetheless. “If it's the last of those, you certainly fit the bill.”

The Supremor’s nostrils flared in poorly-hidden anger. But it was gone as soon as it had appeared. Rather than the icy look Vers had expected to receive, the leader looked at her with calculating eyes. “I’m tempted to give you a challenge”, she slowly started. For a moment she looked thoughtful, walking a couple of paces away. When she again turned around to face Vers, it was with a decisive demeanor. “And I think... I might as well do that. After all, you’ve done so much for me.”

Vers waited for an explanation on what she’d meant with those words, but the woman did not further expand the line of thought. They stood in silence for a while - silent apart from the ever-present background sounds. The silence did not get to last forever, for it was eventually broken by the Intelligence. ”I’ll give you something to figure out. A riddle. I know you love such things. Time and time again you have bothered him with plays on words.”

Vers knew who she referred to, but she did not take the bait. The lie was obvious. Many things were uncertain, but she knew him. Bothered wasn’t the right word. Instead of pointing it out, she tried to redirect the conversation back to the subject. “Get to the point”, she said resolutely. 

“A tree has its roots and I have five of them. What do I mean?”

Vers turned her thoughts on the conundrum and tried to see what the high Intelligence had visualized. In short, the answer dawned on her. “The tiles.”

“Good”, the woman drawled. ”The one you’re standing on, but where’s the rest of them? It could be good to know before starting”. Despite being a praise, it didn’t sound very commending. But then again, they were no longer on such terms. 

“One on the Helion”, she guessed.

“Good. And the other three?” Her face looked it was on the verge of bursting of anticipation. Vers hesitated. She was not sure where the others were located, fact was, she had never had to ponder that thought before now. By all means they had to be located on important places- hardly too easily accessible ones. It would otherwise sound too easy. And what further complicated the matter, she had been well kept from classified information. 

“The Accusers have three battleships”, the divine element added impatiently after a moment, thus ignoring her effort to find the answer herself. “You have the first move, but the game is already on. As a result of you coming here with your memories, I have the coordinates I need”. With the new information in mind, Vers saw no reason to prolong the conversation any longer. She grasped the control device and clarified "I've been fighting with one hand tied behind my back.”

"And who tied it there?”. The follow-up question was unexpected, making Vers start. Maybe it was a desperate last-ditch effort to win her over, but she wouldn’t fall for it. “It's a metaphor-”

" _Who _”. The voice was cold and could have coated the walls with ice. Vers shuddered. The Intelligence spoke up. "Let me assure you. It was no other than you who tied it there. You who held a hand stuck in the past, refusing to accept your destiny, what you could have become.”__

____

____

“And this is the moment when I’m going to decide my own destiny.” She tore off the chip.


	18. I was born to fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I promise you, these storms are only trying to wash you clean._
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> \- jessica katoff
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> What I should have said to my characters in the beginning

She could barely breathe, let alone move. The moment the device had detached from her neck it was like a dam had broken inside her, and now the torrential masses washed over her. Dazzling energy coruscated around her body and she felt power pulsating in her veins. Somewhere in between the feeling of weightlessness and absolute freedom did it filter through the tile she’d been standing on had been destroyed. Danvers now stood in its remains - shards of a shattered illusion. One was down and four remained. She had accepted the challenge. The splinters of glass could not make it more clear. Some seconds ago she had been safe, ready to leave, but now she stood in front of her life’s biggest challenge as if of yet. There would no longer be any mercy for her here. Her heart hammered in her chest and pressed the pounding into her ear canals, producing an echo. 

*****

The news of her breaking the alliance spread like a wildfire. Not many steps taken, and the whole surrounding had changed. She knew that the city was well-developed in technology, but she had not expected it to happen _this_ fast. Hardly a minute had passed, and the city was already lit in turquoise colors. She looked forwards and tried to keep her eyes off from the walls. Everywhere she passed there were info signs full of images - images of her. Once upon a time, the expanses had been covered with scary Skrulls, projected warnings and news about their insidious nature. Now the walls sported a new icon. Her in Starforce colors. 

She took a moment to think about her team. She had no idea how they would react when the news reached them. Would they understand her choice? In the middle of her running steps she had to duck for a rail fence she was about to run into. She cursed her own carelessness and shoved her thoughts stubbornly to the side. But in her thinking she had arrived to an important conclusion: Whatever happened, her team would not be dragged into this. This was her own choice. They could be of their own opinion. She had gotten her eyes opened, opened about the wrong behind their honorable supremacy and the lies of freedom. And she would resist. Fight back.

She watched the residents on the streets. Fearful eyes looked back at her and they backed away as she rushed by. Ahead was a cluster of people, and so she decided to take another route to her destination. She dived down a set of stairs. “Out of the way!” she shouted, making the persons ahead of her scatter to the sides. Their reaction was self-evident, they saw her as a risk. Yet she was grateful they kept their distance; it wasn’t them she was out after. In whichever direction the evolution had been headed for in thousand years, she saw no signs denoting this was a militarized society. She wanted to save them. 

The plan was simple. In its simplicity is was close to being stupid. She would try to get her hands on a ship - no matter the cost. She ran as fast as her legs bore, and sometimes if actually felt as she flew forwards. After a moment the outlines of the proud tower appeared between the buildings. Docking tower, also known as the official headquarters of Starforce. She had a very specific ship in mind - a vessel which would definitely double her chances of succeeding. 

Danvers did not stop running until translucent glass panels towered over her. Her heart beat fast. So far everything had gone well. The next step was to take the Helion, or rather borrow it, but without the guarantee of returning it in the same top mint condition. Or in one piece at all. The agility of the Helion was not the only reason it was her firsthand choice. It also quartered one of those damned tiles. She would destroy it as the last one - after she first had taken care of the rest. She stepped into the entryway, but not before letting her gaze slid upwards one last time. Her goal was up there, in the soon fire-red sky. 

When she had finally arrived at the right floor, it was to her relief to notice she appeared to be alone. She sighted no one. At least not so far. Danvers took a few steps but stopped. Last time she had been standing here had been with the rest of Starforce. She had just become part of the team. And now she was about to steal their ship. There were many reasons she could not retain the colors of the team. If simply felt wrong in the moment. However noble her intentions were, not all would agree with her. But most important: she had stand out from the masses. 

Choice made, she let all the green on her uniform bleed to red and blue while the silvery stripes had to give way to golden ones. The once silvery star became gilded. It now appeared as a rising sun against a backdrop of fiery reds. She had let her heart speak when she had drawn out the lines of her new color scheme. When she was done, she looked down at the result. In some way it did not come as a surprise when the main color turned out to be blue. It was a natural choice for her, and it was a matter of course that blue would make up a big part of the uniform. Deeper than this she refused to think about the symbolism. It was not a smart move to get overwhelmed by emotions, she had to continue. Danvers stepped up from the corner and looked around. The walls and the floor in the spacious hall shone a brilliant gold. Her very first impression had been amazement, but now she only saw the exterior as a magnanimous but misleading facade. A bit farther away stood small spacecrafts parked in neat lines. She continued with her searching gaze. Where could it be? She nearly concluded someone had already taken the Helion when she spotted it. There, in the far corner-!

In the next second an immense roar perforated the silence. Danvers was entirely unprepared for the explosion. Before she could react, she was promptly knocked to the floor as the roof collapsed, showering her with rubble and debris. Before she could even process a thought, several chilling whines were heard in the sky and a second eruption sounded. The explosion took out further chunks of the tower, spewing smoke and dust like a volcanic eruption. Ash and particles swirled through the air, painting an ugly grey taint on the golden surfaces. 

Disorganized and sore, she started to sweep aside the rubble which had come to land on top of her as a cold, heavy blanket. Thoughts of what had actually transpired swirled in her head as she tried to find her way up from all the debris. The roof had been partly torn off, and big parts of it laid all around her. She looked up through a hole in the roof. Overhead a huge warship sailed. Meteoric iron as the pattern and painted in the color which had come to represent ‘Kree teal’, she instantly recognized the ship for what it was. A warship. Its design spoke volumes how unique it was: with its twisted wings it was one of the most striking ships the Empire possessed. And one of the most dangerous by many reasons. Storms raged through her mind when she realized what had happened. She had entered an unfair game, really played right into the hands of the Supreme Intelligence. And this with almost fatal consequences. It was only her own deviation in her plan which had saved her. Because she had stopped in her way to the spacecrafts to change the uniform. If she hadn't done so, she would surely been dead. She had almost fallen goal for a warhead. 

She freed herself from the last rubble, stretched and drew the conclusion she was fine. Bruises and scrapes did not count. She had made it out alive, but what about the starships? Danvers sent a frightened look over the sea of rock and fire. Her eyes did not sighted any ships. All of them had been buried beneath the rubble and were by all probability destroyed - devoured - if the hungry flames were anything to go by. That meant Helion was gone too. She thought she could make out pieces of its windshield. Ash powdered locks were disheveled from where she ran her hand through them. It was no point refuting facts. She was stranded. Chained on the ground without a step closer to her goal. 

But… that wasn’t true. Among the shards she could only assume to be pieces of Helion’s windshield, laid additional shards. They were more mystic and patterned in their appearance. The fragments, which were made of a material resembling a clash between tile and crystal, appeared to her as familiar. Actually, very familiar. She had only minutes ago seen almost identical ones. Even if everything looked outwardly hopeless, a misplaced smile found its way up to her face. Now only three remained. She counted it as a boost. 

The enormous ship had turned its nose to point right at her, and after a few seconds, two more warships appeared from a nearby connection point, flanking the first ship. From their far away and high position in the sky, they appeared to glare down on her, as if dissatisfied she showed signs of life. By all accounts, they were far from done. A gate opened, and a bundle of missiles dropped down. 

Time slowed down, and each second seemed to pass eternally slow. With an unheard calm she looked at the rain of missiles growing bigger and bigger with the decreasing distance. The storms in her mind stilled - as if though an insight had dawned on her. It felt like she knew what she had to do. She would stave off the barrage of projectiles; take them out before they reached the surface. It was a must. And then she would pull up the roots of the Supreme Intelligence. A task she would manage even if it meant the end of her. She filled her lungs with a deep breath, dug her feet deep into the ground and prepared for a leap. ‘Up!’, she thought. She threw herself towards the sky. Somehow it did not come as a surprise when she didn’t hit the ground again. She flew.

*****

The gravity did not manage to hold her down, and when she broke through the atmosphere, it was like the last chains had been broken. On Hala you are reborn, they had said. But it hadn’t gone as they had planned. She was born to fly.

*****

Vers turned around and looked over the lonely landscape. Uneven landscape, a small number of irregular craters. A feeling told her she had been here before. It was if someone had dragged her back to the same landscape as in her dreams. She felt the ground under her feet and could smell the smoke. It was here the hold of reality kicked in. 

She had failed in her promise. One tile had been left. She had been so close, done her damnedest, but it hadn’t been enough. She had taken on the whole weight of a ballistic missile, stopping it dead in its very trajectory. Arms slightly outstretch at her sides, she looked down on her balled-up hands. No grazes covered them despite everything she had done. She could strongly recall the feeling of sending the first leading projectile rotating back at the others. It had collided with the rest of the projectiles, the whole sky shaken by the resulted chain explosion. Back in the present, she drew out a quiet sigh. She had torn down ship after ship. But nothing had been enough. The last and also the biggest warship had dived into a connection point, disappearing far away from her reach. 

Right now she felt like the darkest sunshine. An undefined moment ago, flares and sparks had bathed her in a nimbus of light. But they were gone now. The last embers had also fallen to the ground. 

“I don’t know who I am anymore”, she said, her voice lost. A heavy stillness had settled itself around her. It was if the very crickets had wished themselves into silence, as though afraid of being heard and discovered. She felt lonely - even though she wasn’t alone. They had now stood there for quite a while. She and Yon-Rogg. 

"Who do you want to be?", he asked at last. To her surprise he had not answered Vers, yet it still felt as heavy. It was what she had actually recently asked. Asked, because she did not know. Now she arrived back to the same question, came back to the situation, and in a way, back to them. It was easing there was something to fall back to. Her eyes went to his hand. To start off with, she did not want to feel this way. She had never wanted to burn him, hurt him, in the way she had done. But she had. And she regretted it. “Why do you put up with me?”. She had always taken his affection for granted, never really dared to ask why he always was on a good mood when beside her, no matter what. 

A tingling sensation appeared in her stomach when he came to stand by her side. Gently he took her closed hands in his. They disappeared in his clasp. "Because it feels like we were meant to see the universe through our eyes”. When he again opened his hands, it was for her to see he had smoothed out her clenched fists. She saw the beauty in his sign, never had someone shown in such a way what perspective meant. With new eyes she looked upon the place they stood at - so much remained. It was not as desolate as she had at first in her alarm assumed. The city remained standing. She took a quivering breath. Some sounds had found their way back to the surroundings. Her senses were again clear. It was like that one endless moment, she realized, between his words about a miracle and when he had finally leaned in to kiss her. To be sure, it was wondrous to simply exist.

She leant against him and let her head rest against his chest. Yon-Rogg flinched ever so slightly but accepted her closeness. She closed her eyes and could hear him mumble words against the crown of her head, something that the mountains she bore were only meant to be climbed. It felt as everything was as it should be. She wanted to believe that but knew too well the both of them needed a break; distance to recover from the solar storm. She held onto him a while longer, borrowing some warmth and letting more pieces slowly but surely fall into place. 

"I was happy here - even in those moment it didn’t rain.” It was if they were once again on that rooftop when a shooting star had linked her to him. "You know....", she said and turned in order to see him better. "I had really hoped you were the one who had laid out the clues”. 

"So do I", he said and took in every detail of her. The depth in her eyes resembled the depth of an ocean. His ocean of stars. "But then it might not have ended like this”. He placed his hands on her slouched shoulders and gave a light shake to remind of her dawning future. It must have worked because a small smile broke out on her face. Testing, she released herself from his arms. She then straightened and pushed her shoulders back. That’s better, he thought, returning the smile. 

The commander of Starforce was the first one to bring up the subject of their approaching subject, among other things, her presumed departure. He assured he would speak with Ronan. But also that he saw no cause for concern despite the fact the Accusers had taken the last tile in their possession. The Kree had an empire they had to think of, which he too had to understand. They would see to it that Hala got up on its feet. It would take time, not really being something easy that could happen overnight. And it was probably time the two ex-teammates needed too, but each on their own ways. Suddenly he realized he did not know where she planned to go after her visit to C-53. “How do I find you?”, he asked, voice paved with uncertainty. 

“I will find you”. With the words resembling a promise, Yon-Rogg watched her take a step to the side and fixing her gaze on the sky. Even though their paths were about to diverge, it did not mean they would never cross again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing this story back in March, I did not expect to reach this far, the original thought was to come full circle with the title "Only happy when it rains", leaving the end open with a rhetorical question, but I'm overjoyed it turned out this way. I have always had a document named "sequel" and it finally looks like I can unite those two word documents with this fic. All I had to do was (to try) to fix some plot holes. I definitely want this fic's storyline and the storyline in the MCU to be like two parallel lines; close but never touching. That meant among other things, the Supreme Intelligence had to be replaced in some way, and Vers needs to reclaim her human name Carol Danvers from Earth.
> 
> All in all, I'm very enthusiastic about the future of this story. Let's see what future chapters have in store :)


	19. A cup of tea

The energy core was smaller than she had expected. However Danvers tilted her head, it did not fit into her notions about it. She had imagined something grand, something more pompous, perhaps like a proud, glossy generator - or something like that. But this was not the case. The object in front of her was a small, sparkling cube. And on top of that, it was tiny in size; the cube would fit perfectly into the palm of her hand. But what it lost in size it gained in light intensity. When Danvers rested her eyes on it, she started to understand why it was so sought after as it was. With its soft pale shine, everyone in the room was bathed by the light thoroughly. The bright light seemed to emanate from deep within it, suffusing the whole room. Truly such a power - from something so small. 

She stood in Mar-Vell’s laboratory, which turned out to be a former Kree imperial cruiser. It had been hidden for the naked eye, and that because of many reasons. It namely lodged a large number of refugees, among them family members of Talos. The lab had all these years been in orbit around C-53, the same planet to visit her scattered memories. That is, the same planet which happened to be her home planet. The name that came in mind was Earth. The more she thought about the name, the more curious the name appeared. Earth. The blue planet looking back at her from the other side of the cruiser’s window appeared to her as a dot of blue color. If she had gotten to choose, she would have called it water. 

Danvers and a handful of Skrulls - mainly those with knowledge in physics - stood gathered around Mar-Vell’s work. At the beginning, many of them had been doubtful about her alliance, but they seemed to have gotten over it when their leader had spoken for her trustworthiness. At least they now had other things to focus on than to observe her. It was the glowing cube which was their point of interest at the moment. The energy core was perched on a platform, surrounded by a complicated net of intertwined wires. To her surprise, not a single wire touched the frosty surface of the cube. Only one of the six sides touched the surrounding design. 

Just now they stood and talked, or rather, the others talked. She had settled to listen from the side. The topics were mostly about the technology behind the phenomenon in front of their eyes. What Mar-Vell’s work had consisted of. And other interesting insights. Sometimes one of them would look at her for confirmation, just like they believed she could tell them more about the core’s functions. Unfortunately, she had nothing to add, and could only nod along when a gaze landed momentarily on her. She had only been a pilot on the experimental aircraft, not involved in the concept of speed of light. They continued their conversation and it was easy for her to keep up. All years working as a pilot had given her a broad knowledge in physics. She caught a few additional references to photons and gamma radiation before she chose to close her mind to the talking. She had noticed a thing. A new strange sound filled the corner of the room. It was like a gramophone had been turned on in a distant room. A mysterious call pervaded the air. She could not instantly point out where it resonated from, it was ubiquitous in a very strange way. She sharpened up her senses and focused on the sound. She perceived the source had to be close, since the intensity appeared to reach its peak when she tilted her head to the center of the room. A thoughtful expression appeared on her face as she considered the possibility. Did the hum come from… the cube? She found herself drawing nearer. And as she had guessed, the noise grew ever so slightly in volume when she came closer. 

Her gaze was draw to the blue object in an attempt to see straight through the inner emptiness. Surely there was an inside to a tesseract. ‘Maybe a whole dimension’, she thought and found the notion to be intriguing. The translucent panels were like windows on a cold winter night; the surface blurry with hoarfrost. And somewhere from the other side of the window, from the glowing coldness, the sound derived from. Somewhere in between leaning casually forwards and tilting her head closer, she had also picked up the cube. The action filtered through when the talking voices suddenly ceased around her. Now all six Skrulls were staring at her with the cube in her bare hands. 

The atmosphere made this one of the most awkward situations in a long time. Okay… So, you mustn't touch it? But they had all the time said the cube couldn't remain on the ship, that it had to be moved to another location as soon as possible. This was merely a step further in that plan, wasn't it? She chose to go out with the truth as it was. “It makes weird sounds. Can’t you hear it?”, she said, hoping the situation to be returned to normal again. But no. Judging from the looks the others traded with each other and then sent to her, gave the answer. It was dead quiet in the room, and the cube did not make a single sound. 

She twiddled the cube nervously in her grip. She considered putting it back from where she had taken it but was interrupted by Talos. He had stepped forth and held out a case to her. Judging from its appearance, it was the planned container for the tesseract. There was also a pair of tongs inside he swiftly set aside. “It’s good you picked it up. I too find we should get this over with”, he said, and indicated for her to place it inside. She eyed the case. It was made in some kind of metal, the nuance a cold steel-grey. The container looked made for the purpose, as it had the exact right dimensions for the cube. She must have stalled one second too long, because he said quite promptly, “Put it down”. 

She complied. “And now then”, she asked after he had closed the lid. She did not really know what would happen next. The captain of the cruiser had made it clear they did not need the energy core any longer. They had through the years managed to store up an energy reserve big enough for their upcoming trips, and on top of that, a continual connection existed between their engine and the core. And it did not seem to be limited to distance - like a battery with wireless charging they had drawn the parallel.

“We'll return it from where Mar-Vell had borrowed it from. I think you know what place I’m talking about”, Talos said. 

“Project Pegasus”, she answered almost automatically, and was surprised how easily the detailed had popped up in her head. ‘Memories are linked to each other’, they had explained to her. If you found the leading memory, you could slowly find the rest. 

Talos nodded slowly. “I’ve already informed them in advance of our arrival. Or more accurately, _your_ arrival. I find its better to leave out there’s shapeshifters in their galaxy. It would only cause them unnecessary worry”

“But you’re still coming?”, she checked up. The way she had understood, Talos, Norex and a couple of others would also make a quick stop for Earth. What was their business in the same location as her?

“You’ll see”, was the simple answer. 

*****

Her mission to S.H.I.E.L.D. was one of the shorter ones. Not much time passed between her touching down on the ground, and her handing over the tesseract to the research facility. The meeting was formal to say the least, and the conversations with the agents passed quickly, due to the events being planned ahead of time. There was a lot of secrecy involved, but she agreed on its necessity. The main idea was the energy core to be kept hidden. After she had returned the cube, her mission was in principle completed. But the meeting had not ended right there. “Who are you?”, one of the agents had wanted to know, the question almost taking her by surprise. She had planned to leave the scene without getting further involved in questions, but had despite all this stayed a while. It had really been a relevant question. She had reflected with thoughtfulness on the question. A name had been ready on her lips. “An avenger.”

*****  
Back in Mar-Vell’s laboratory, Vers went through her actual plan. To sort out her own life. To collect pieces of her scattered past and then get those pieces to fall into place. Because somewhere down there on the blue planet might be someone who could patch together her puzzle of a past. _The now or never_ fact weighted upon her. 

The sound of a transformation had her turning away from the window she had been peering through. It was the kind of sound she would best describe as tree branches creaking in the wind. If one has ever heard that sound, it immediately puts you on alert, because you will know what it is all about. She could almost imagine how bones reformed and tissue tied together. ‘Yet it won’t do good to think too much about what is heard´, she reminded herself and dismissed the rising unease.

“By the way, how could you transform yourself into Mar-Vell?”, she asked when Talos was back to being as reptilian as before. She had almost got used to his appearance and it struck her that he by all means must be exceptionally good at remembering the people he met. But weren't years stretching it a bit? “Shouldn’t it be impossible to get all the characteristics right if you can’t directly see the person in question?”

“Some people I remember more clearly than others. Mar-Vell was a person of singular attainment, she was very important to us.” The answer seemed a little bit wooden, and Danvers knew it couldn’t be the whole truth. They still kept some secrets to themselves, however, it was fine by her.

Talos had something to say, it was made clear by the fact he didn’t go away, but rather lingered at the scene. Looking more closely, she noticed he was holding a bunch of paper in his hands. A file. Talos held it out to her. “To me?”, she asked even though it appeared quite obvious. Was this the reason he had been gone for so long? She had known some of them had their own matters on Earth they wanted to look into. Yet fetching some papers didn’t sound too interesting. She accepted the binder and scanned its cover with a quick glance. The cover was plain gray and didn’t reveal much. Danvers opened the file and thumbed through the first ten pages with a blank look on her face. There was no personal data inside as most of the text was blackened out. The pages were slightly yellowed and out of order, but it was still easy to make out what it was about. It was a report of a past event. She stopped on one of the final pages of the report, her eyebrows shooting up and eyes suddenly filled with chock. “How on earth did you get this?”

On the front, in the right corner, under the text _‘top secret’_ and _‘classified information’_ was a logo which was very familiar to her, nearly so familiar it scared her. It was painted in red, blue and yellow - the same colors as on the uniform she wore right now. 

“I thought you needed to see it”, he replied shortly. She tore back her eyes on the page. Her heart began to jump uneven beats when she realized what this could only mean. It was a file about her. A clue to her past. 

*****

The cool water was soothing against her hands, and she splashed some on her face. She looked in the mirror and wondered if it was truly Carol Danvers who looked back. She turned her gaze away and glanced about for a towel to dry her hands on. Nature green and with a touch of brown; it dangled from a hook close to the bathroom door. Just next to it, two matching towels hung on the wall. She reached towards the smaller towel and took in the rest of the details of the room. Everything was cozy down to every detail. So this was the way the Rambeaus lived. Not too long ago she had seen pictures of her past life. A girl - Monica Rambeau- had been the first to recognize her, and she had apparently been overjoyed to see her again. In a short time, Monica had gathered a pile of memories - mostly photos and badges - and told with great feeling about their shared time.

At first, it had come as a chock to be called ‘auntie Carol’, but it seemed to be in line with the memories the pictures evoked. Apparently she had been best friends with the girl’s mother Maria Rambeau. The ex-pilot was, as expected, more reserved. After Carol had told them a condensed version of how she had survived the crash, but been brought to another planet, Maria could little by little accept her best friend was actually alive. 

Carol went to the kitchen countertop where a teapot lay. She filled it with water. A cup of tea would be relaxing, but it could as well serve a purpose. An explanatory one, she intended and placed her hand on the pot. A glow - and steam hissed from the spout. “I understand this must be hard for you”. Carol took turns watching the two of them, and Maria was the first one to answer. 

“This? No. Umm-umm.” The answer was crystal clear. “Hard, was losing my best friend in a mission so secret, they pretended it never happened.” Carol could see the genuine brows in her face when she continued “And now what’s shocking is knowing that you were out there on some planet, too damn stubborn to die”. A more laidback discussion followed, and Carol felt relieved. Sitting there on their sofa, it felt all natural to be with them. She broke into a smile when she realized that she still could feel a connection to them. A memory loss and roughly six years absence had not changed the situation. She found out lots of stuff, among other things that Maria wasn’t working in the United States Air Force anymore, but her interest in aircrafts hadn’t ebbed away. Nowadays she was more of a mechanic and fixed planes. Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, her daughter jumped up. Bubbling over with excitement, she said she had to fetch something, apparently a piece of clothing she no longer was allowed to wear due to once accidentally spilling ketchup on it. Carol watched her disappear up a set of stairs and turned to her friend for an explanation. She was met with amusement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'What a challenge', is the only thing I can say after writing this chapter. I like the way it turned out :) I will definitely include both Rambeaus somewhere in future chapters, but as for now there will be a little break for them. Next chapter will be a little bit shorter (I hope!). All because I can't simply wait to write and then finally read chapter 21 myself... #Writer's problems? 
> 
> As always, stay tuned!


	20. Needle in a haystack

The calendar looked empty from where it was projected on the expansive, patterned wall. The calendar was not empty per se, her eyes had simply adjusted, now overlooking everyday topics. Thus, the days took the same form, blending together. Carol fixed her eyes on an enlightened date. It was today’s date. Lucky for her, the system kept track of the passage of time, because she had by now lost count of time spent on the space cruiser. It could have been weeks, but something told her it was time to translate the weeks into months. Nonetheless, it was most likely as much time remaining of this journey. When she had joined in on the mission, she had not sensed the full extent of it. The engine’s nickname ‘light-speed’ had been present in her mind when she had made a rough estimate on how long it would take to reunite a whole people. However, the speed of light had only been the concept. They did not reach up to that vision in practice. The ship was fast; indeed, it possessed a speed unmatched by any other spacecraft around, but it still had a long way before reaching light-speed. Carol sat up more straight in a try to perk up. 

Talos had not joked when he had said his people was scattered throughout the galaxy. Xandar and Sakaar, for instance, and also mentioning that some had been pushed as far to the edge of the Nova empire. He had also subtly implied some had gotten separated to other galaxies too. 

After her five-day stay on Earth, she and Talos’ crew had moved on to the next planet. Said planet was familiar from before. Torfa. It was a good starting point. From her perspective, a good task to get done. The rescue mission had flown smoothly, and they had brought back a dozen of Skrulls from the rocky planet. She had stayed on the side, having settled for the task to keep a lookout for trouble. With her gaze riveted on the sky, she had searched for a huge and peaked ship. One with twisted wings. “They won’t turn up”, Norex had pointed out when she had stood steadfast for a while. “Ronan is not stupid, and additionally, a peace treaty has been signed on Hala”. It had been new information for her. She remembered thinking, ‘That means progress on their front’, all while hiding a smile with the back of her hand.

Back in the present, she sent a glance at the clock. It was five p.m, meaning she still had some spare time. It would be a couple of hours before arriving at their next destination. Carol thought of the schedule she had memorized and tried to recall what the display had last time showed. A few hours - according to the computer’s calculation. She rubbed her hands against each other, because they felt like they were tingling, as if she had too much time on them. Ember-like sparks peeked through as rivulets of photon energy slipped to the surface. With this amount of spare time, she might as well find out what the others were up to. It could be entertaining to listen to her fellow passengers’ speculations on who was residing on what planet. 

She was halfway on standing up when a knock sounded from the other side of the room. _Wonder what it could be._ Without delay, she went over a few possibilities as she approached the door. It could be a task for her; something that needed to be done. Maybe a bunch of meteoroids had showed up, thus blocking their path, and needed to be fixed out of the way? If so, it was a cakewalk for her, but of course you had to plan every move with care. She was content to admit she had improved the skill of fending off a rain of meteoroids. If this was the case, she would happily accept. If needed, she could come at once. A change of clothes was not necessary. Early on, she had noticed by pure coincidence she did not really need protective clothing outside in space. The reasons had to do with her increasing powers. The power field that surrounded her each time she tapped into full power was dense enough to stave off the cold. Additionally, since she could provide the energy of her own, the lack of air did not affect her. 

When she opened the door, Carol was not that surprised upon seeing Soren. She had guessed it from the sound of the knock. A soft but firm knock. Talos’ wife was nice, and Carol had soon become friends with her. Soren also had a daughter, and the sight of her made her thoughts return to Earth. To New Orleans. 

“You have a visitor”, Soren said, giving her a smile Carol had hard to interpret. The words were even more cryptic. What was the meaning of this? A visit; someone she should meet. As far as she knew, she was not expecting any company. Carol sent Soren a questioning look. Or was this something completely different? An important meeting she had possibly forgotten about? It would not surprise her much. The ship was bustling with activity, and a few trivial, minor things had been forgotten by her. However, this sounded unlikely. This had to be about something else. Not too unexpected, Soren did not seem to offer any further explanations, only stepping aside as if to be respectful. Carol followed her and looked down the hallway. Whatever it was about, she had a feeling she had to make her way to the flight deck. It sounded like a rational move. 

Someone had come to meet her… A feeling of elation which had not previously been there made itself known. She increased her steps in the hallway, thoughts swirling. Because what was the likelihood? The odds of being on a ship - which was currently in the middle of nowhere - and running into someone acquainted were small. It would be like finding a black cat in the dark of night. She scoffed at herself. The thought was silly at best, only adding to the reasons why she had to be mistaken. She pushed forwards down the hallway. A name had made it to her conscious, and she reluctantly pushed it back. However tempting it was to imagine a certain person to show up, it couldn’t be. Thinking back, it was her own actions that ruled him out of this guessing game: She had been the one to promise she would find him. She was about to set her foot down for another stride when she paused abruptly. Because she had realized something. Maybe it was not too wrong to get her hopes up. What had started out as a calm walk turned into a marsh which then escalated to a run. 

 

She made it around the last corner and got her confirmation. It felt like she had run into a glass wall, so abrupt did the sight hit her. The familiar appearance was astounding. When she met his eyes, they were already fixated on her. Yon-Rogg.


	21. You were gone forever. I counted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know what I would do without music, it’s in every way part and parcel of my writing. Always first to the rescue when a writing block randomly pops up. In particular, I really love fanmade music videos, especially those of the MCU. For this chapter, I’ve mostly watched a Captain Marvel video with the song ‘Destruction’. A nicely edited video I must say. And yeah, I know, Destruction and the name of the chapter really sound like an ambivalent combination… But.. whatever… 
> 
> *disappears from the authors notes*

There was something ardent in her gaze that made Yon-Rogg’s heart skip a beat. However, he thought he saw a change the second after, for her eyes glimmered, and the ardency which had previously been there was replaced by vigilance. 

Upon arriving, a group of the ship’s crew had come to meet him, Talos among them. Currently, they resided in the background and it was evident from the way they still lingered at the scene that they were not ready to leave the two of them on their own. Yet. 

The steps when she made her way over to him were calm and there was a trace of certainty in them. The way she moved was like a panther, watchful and ready, and the room respectfully held its breath. Lost in that insight, he wondered how good an idea it was to turn up at this place. 

He found himself straightening up as she came to stand in front of him. Their eyes met in a silent clash of wills, which none of them had any intention to deflect from. No hurry existed between the two of them. He looked for clues in the patches of gold, anything that would indicate she was ready to face him again. Trails of what once had been. Absorbed in the moment, Yon-Rogg wondered what she had seen through those eyes of hers. For his own part, he did his best to convey the reason he had returned. Because he cared. In his head a film clip was playing, one that he would have wanted her to see. Something of this must have registered since there was a slight twitch in her mouth. The next moment, a smile lighted up her features. The beauty of it alone was enough to make him break out into a matching smile. 

He reached out his hand to her. Not much time passed until she took it, which seemed perfect for the moment. Everything in her appearance and character fitted her. The sleeveless shirt left her arms bare. He wondered if he should shake hands with her, or if it would come across as too formal. The pondering did not last for long. She pressed against him in an embrace, with warmth flooding over him. It was definitely her. Yon-Rogg drew in her familiar scent and kissed her neck. The contact was rewarded with her hand pressing against his back. When they at last let go of each other, Yon-Rogg noticed the onlookers around them had left. 

*****

“And what about you?”, Yon-Rogg asked after he had given a short summary of what he had been up to lately. They had decided to linger at the breakout space, both having settled for a relaxed exchange of events. The round design of the otherwise open room emitted a warm, cozy atmosphere. He tilted back his head and wondered if there was something else worth bringing up. Nothing imminent turned up; he thought he had included what he wanted to mention. She had listened with rapt attention, occasionally nodding along. She seemed to be updated on most parts, which was my all means reasonable. News reached everywhere fast. Him on the other hand, had not heard a word what she had been up to since leaving Hala - apart from the coordinates of course. When he brought his story to a close, he let his voice fade out in a sign for her to continue. 

“I'll say everything's fine around here. It’s pretty much of a space adventure with all the planets”. Her eyes grew distant as she tried to describe a peculiar planet from memory, a planet different from any other she had experienced. There, among the rocky slopes and mountains, the answer to the question whether there is burning water or not, had been found. Turns out such phenomenons actually existed. 

“A beautiful place indeed”. A stretch of silence appeared as she tried to recall the name. He already sensed which place she had in mind but chose to wait. One could pinpoint the exact moment when she thought she had found the right name. She voiced it almost immediately afterwards. The name suggestion drew a light laugh from him - she almost hit the mark; he only added an extra syllable at the end. 

Her face lit up in recognition. “It’s nice to have you here. It's been... you know”, she said, shrugging, “Pretty much the same old story, ups and downs”.

"I can imagine", he answered while he tried to envisage what she had meant with those words. Something peculiar happened then. Her expression flatlined - her face went completely blank for a moment - before an expression he had never expected to receive appeared over her features. Disappointment. She took a step to the side, made an arc around him, brushing past him as she did, and disappeared down the hall he had himself just arrived from. The fast turn in events made it close to impossible for him to grasp what had happened. Shaking off the confusion, he went after her. 

“Was it something I said?”. She did not walk in particular fast. Soon, he had caught up with her and was once again at her side. It was only the surprise which had given her the head start she had. 

She stopped, the look of disappointment as good as gone from her face as she regarded him. “Yes. No. I don’t know”, she said, her voice in conflict with her body language. She turned around, continuing her trek. The noise in their surroundings grew louder as they made their way further down the space cruiser. They passed a corridor, much to Yon-Rogg’s surprise. He had expected her to turn left, to the living quarters, not to continue forwards. If she wasn’t making her way to her room, then where to? A while ago, he had walked down this road - in the reversed direction. Namely, when he had been led from the hangar to the breakout space by the awaiting party. 

“How can you even be here?”. A few strands of hair fell into her face as she shook her head. It was true they diverged from what had been promised last time they had talked: That after she felt ready, she would find him. Not the other way around.

“You know why. You invited me here”.

Her eyebrow arched in an amused expression. “We have telepathy now, or what?”. She stopped to wait for a door to slide open. When the crack was wide enough, she slipped in, with him following a short moment later. 

Yon-Rogg looked around the hangar. So this was where she had made her way to. As expected, the ship he had left parked in the corner was still there, untouched. His mentee had obviously something else in mind since she went in a different direction. Tracking her path, he tried to figure out what she had in mind. The distance between her and the opposite wall diminished. It was the gate she was making her way to. The plan was supposedly to step outside just like that, dressed in a tank top, and what he assumed to be the lower half of her former Starforce uniform: Blue pants decorated with a few stripes of red and gold on the front. The complementary jacket was notable by its absence. According to him, if one wanted to visit the outside, a suit which could endure rigors of space was needed. 

“I can go fetch your jacket”, he offered. Or actually, it would be nearer to simply bring his own from his ship. “Or I could lend you mine”.

“It’s okay”, she said, “I promise”. She turned around. 

“Vers”. At the sound of her name in his voice, her next step became really rigid, and he reflexively held his breath when he understood the reason why. The name. He had not yet asked her how she wanted to move on. But nothing interesting happened. She reached for a garment hanging on a peg rail by the exit. From the looks of it, it was definitely not her red and blue suit sporting a new look. The material of the jacket was unfamiliar to him. A thick, stiff fabric, and brown to the color. Some kind of tanned leather. She slipped on the jacket, the movement smooth, as if she had done it a couple of times before. And perhaps this was not the first time she did it. Stepped out into the endless space, asking for a moment on her own. Even if only to savor moments of freedom and solitude. 

Light made itself visible around her as she clasped her hands together. She had paused by the airlock, and he took a step closer. He could not deny he was interested in witnessing her powers from up close. The only time he had experienced her like this, he had been hundred meters away. Back then, he had watched from the ground while she had been up high. The colors were as striking as he remembered them. A fiery mix of titanium white and hues of red. A sole flame whipped out, touching his arm. To his surprise, it was not as burning as he had expected it to be. It was rather the opposite, close to being heatless in character. Not actual flames as the flickering show of light indicated. The way they surrounded her gave them a soft undertone. In contrast to the knife-sharp design around them - straight lines creeping along the walls to finally form hexagons on the floor - the wisps of flames appeared very soft. They caressed her skin, hugging her tightly just as he longed to do. 

*****

One hundred eighty seconds. So much time passed while he walked from the hangar to the front of the space cruiser. In three minutes had he made it to the outermost vantage point, the trip including a wrong turn and him doubling back to find the right track again. But here he now stood. Yon-Rogg was surprised he had been granted access to the locked bay. Two possible scenarios crossed his mind. Either Mar-Vell had made every room accessible to all users, or there was some kind of recognition when it came to him and Kree-produced starships. Whichever it was, he did not care. Not now at least. 

On the other side of the thick glass, oncoming stars zipped by from a great distance away, sometimes leaving visible trails lingering for a few seconds. To be at this exact spot was not coincidental. No. The thought was not solely to stand in the direction of travel. It ran deeper than that. 

The privilege of being alone did not last long. But Yon-Rogg had not expected it to last either. Pretty soon anybody who gazed out from a porthole, either to contemplate the view sailing by, or to simply pass the time, would notice that all the surrounding constellations had changed their structures. It was if someone had wandered into the starry heavens, picked up a few stars, rearranged them and made their new patterns. Even the most twinkling of stars had left its place to pilgrim in front of their ship, shining like a guiding beacon ahead. But Yon-Rogg knew the star for what is truly was. 

“I take it didn’t go as planned”

Yon-Rogg rolled his eyes when the voice reached him. Fortunately for him, the reaction was hidden by him pressing his eyes shut the second after. He let out a sigh, the sound on the verge of translating into a growl. The other presence to make itself know was of course Talos. His educated guess referred obviously to the view in front of them. For a while longer, Yon-Rogg let his reflection be mirrored in the space-darkened surface before he turned around. ”Or that depends whose plans we’re talking about”. With his searching gaze, he tried to peel off the superficial facade presented in front of his eyes. Yon-Rogg could bet, that hidden under the courtesies, lay an underlying motif. He frowned when he found none. 

Talos considered him for a moment, not affected by the silence between them. “We never claimed to be her when we sent the coordinates”. The tone was calm and the body language controlled. A small move of his hand hinted he probably wanted to cross his arms, but they remained at his sides. 

Yon-Rogg looked at the shadow falling over Talos. When he had come here, it was in the belief Vers had sent for him. Because she wanted and was ready to meet him. Of course, he had questioned the credibility of the message several times. It was an encrypted message from a remote corner of space, lying adjacent to the rim of the Kree empire. He had chosen to look further into the case. When he had determined it was from an allied host, he had by all logic assumed Vers was the sender of the message. But turns out he was wrong. He observed how the shadow of his silhouette moved across the floor, the angle narrowing as the cruiser readjusted its course around an outer obstacle. Vers. That shining supernova a distance away. 

Talos squinted at the light. “I hadn’t planned for this. No. For the coordinates, yes. But not exactly for this”.

“I don’t think it’s out of kindness you’ve invited me here”. From where Yon-Rogg stood, with his back to the blinding light, it felt like he had an upper hand. The words were met by narrowed eyes. “On the basis of the wording, I mean”, he added a scarce moment later. ”No names, encrypted”. Yon-Rogg drew away from the windshield, thus leaving his strategic spot. To be honest, he wanted to make this talk more like a conversation again. Because there was something that did not make much sense. For instance, the fact Talos and his assembled people would willingly let him join them after this little time. It would take longer for the refugees to get used to the thought of him residing under the same roof as them. 

Talos made a sound in his throat. “I did it to protect those I love”. Barely had the words left him, before Yon-Rogg’s jerked his head back. “You understand”, Talos continued untroubled from what had just transpired, “She has seemed… different in recent time”. He turned to face Yon-Rogg. The grooves above his eyes tried an ascending motion, as if to mirror Yon-Rogg’s look of incredulity. “My family”, Talos clarified. “She may act unintentionally, but the risk stays the same”. He then averted his gaze, but not in time for Yon-Rogg to miss the uncertainty in them. The uncertainty was hardly because their guardian angel was absent. As it happens, she had likely done so before. Which had him wondering how often she held timeouts like these.

“Power corrupts, and absolute-”, Talos started his, what Yon-Rogg could only presume to be his thought-out analysis, but he swiftly cut him off. 

“I know how it goes: And absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Yon-Rogg knew very well such expressions existed. After his and Vers’ separation of ways, he had chosen to look up a few sayings. Not long ago, a burning sensation had found its way to his chest and now it climbed to his conscious. The topic had taken a direction which made him feel irked. “But that’s a Skrullian saying. It doesn't apply to her”. He broke the eye contact and let his gaze instead rest on a distant star. Did they really think her so breakable? He knew better. All she needed was someone who believed in her. 

From the way Talos’ jaw clenched and unclenched, he seemed like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. The strained muscle in the jaw relaxed somewhat. “You can check with her, right? You are, after all, her closest friend”

Teeth pressed against teeth. Now if ever was there a truth in the advice not to voice one’s inner thoughts, especially if one wanted to build a new alliance. Because he really wanted to stay on the same ship as her. Yon-Rogg reflected on the task at hand. “She seems alright to me. She has an impulsive yet honest personality and acts according to it"

Judging from the way the facial grooves remained, and did not fade away, it was evident Talos did not seem wholly convinced. Yon-Rogg tried another take on the situation, this time, to see the situation from Vers’ perspective. A new analysis took form. A conceivable explanation, which seemed reasonable the more he thought of it. She tried to find her identity and had a whole lot of new powers at her disposal. “She’s looking for her boundaries. On her own scale. A balance”. 

’Balance’ turned out to be the wrong word in the situation. As if in silent protest, the ship dipped - made a sudden jarring motion, with him almost staggering as a result. The cause for this was simple, the ship had set in on new course. He peered out, and indeed, a movement caught his eye. Vers, - or...- he had to ask her about her name when she returned, had made a loop back to them. The navigation system had not followed in a smooth way, but calculated there was an obstacle needed to be parried. He could see her intention, simply to return. He closed his eyes, for he was familiar with her tendency to make fierce decisions. He could see Talos’ concern, because effect would follow where she went.

“I will check with her.”


	22. A new start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author notes: A fortnight of writing the chapter and it still sounds like a filler. Makes me almost wanna shunt this chapter’s plot off to the side. Almost. From the bright side (always!), with this out of the way, it leaves more room for action in the upcoming chapters 😄

Talos exhaled, shoulders sinking down to a relaxed state as he did. Carol had returned and the situation seemed to be back to normal. Since there was nothing denoting to recent events, he let the subject stay as a thought in his mind. He did not dare to draw any conclusions, but he could guess. Strategist as he was, he found it interesting to speculate about the reason for her exit. It certainly had to do with their newcomer. 

It helped to observe the persons standing around him. Talos shifted his weight to keep his posture open to the two Kree in front of him. With occasional comments about passed times drifting by, the atmosphere could best be described as light. Talos took a pause in listening and turned his gaze back at Soren standing a pace away. 

Talos would not describe his race as gossipy. But at the same time, you could not fully deny it. It was true that Skrulls had a tendency of being curious, it was almost part of their nature. The need of being in the know was easily associated with features of being gossipy. The two Kree emitted a strange mystery, but the mystery was far from being the reason why he had invited the other one over. Talos prefered to see his choice as a proactive action for the future, even if he had a difficult time understanding it himself. Time had to tell if this was for the better, or not. 

Soren had not agreed with him in the beginning. Fairly soon, his planned arrangement had met skepticism. It was especially the part with ‘luring’ Yon-Rogg to join them it all foundered on. ‘To meddle in Carol’s matters’, had she called it. The way Soren saw it, a change in everyday life was needless, it would sort out on its own. What eventually made Soren acknowledge his plan, was the fact that the next opportunity like this could take a while. Each day they covered distances tantamount to astronomic strides. Soon, they would leave the Kree empire behind. As a further rationale, Yon-Rogg was fortunately towards the ‘more respectable’ end of the spectrum when it came to talked-about Kree. Noted by his focus, and in recent time, a sense of purpose. They could have help of an asset. 

Talos watched Carol during the conversation. She smiled during their conversation, and he felt his own mood reflecting her demeanour. A smile, genuine and cheery, which he took as a sign of win. His look lingered for a moment, because she had not been this cheery for long. If Carol had her suspicions about why her equal had turned up, she showed no signs of it. Talos did not feel any obligation to tell her either. Of course he strived for sincerity - however contradictory it sounded when you were a shapeshifter down to every cell. But in the end, it was more than such inflexible details which counted. Ultimately, it was the end that counted. It was on a good note he and Soren made their leave. Soon, they would arrive at the next planet, and there were preparations to be seen to. 

 

*****

Dimmed lights glowed blue in the hallway and Carol swept her gaze over her surroundings in a search for something to rest her eyes upon. There was no distraction to be noticed. Everything was too uniform, but she should have known that by now. Her eyes retraced their path to his face. 

The expression Yon-Rogg wore was the usual: patience and calm written over his face, and if you let yourself hope, acceptance too. To Carol’s relief, he had been the one to take initiative and bring up the subject of her name. Her original name. She would have otherwise done it herself relatively fast, but it was better this way. 

Finding out one’s original name was like having back a piece of oneself. But even that was not a comprehensive summary over her whole character. On Hala she had been trained to be a fighter, and in principle, she had already been that on Earth. There were similarities, the one more than the other. Vers - her former self - constituted a part of said name, an aspect which had long left her perplexed. It could not be a mere coincidence. Whether it was to her healing happiness, or silent sorrow, she could guess whom she had to thank for the happenstance. 

Carol Danvers. The way she wished to continue following. First-name-terms meant Carol. He simply had to get into that thought. 

To her wonder, Yon-Rogg had still not mentioned how he had found his way to her. If she was in his place, she would definitely have done so. Because damn if it wasn’t an impressive feat to succeed in finding the space cruiser in the middle of nowhere. It must have required a lot of dedication. And above all else, time. But however long they seemed to talk, it was not even once mentioned. The reason eluded her, and his laid-back appearance gave nothing away.

She nudged him with her elbow. “Eager to join me as a sidekick?”, she winked. Rather than the expected laugh, or smile, he looked...sort of tired. He didn’t look all too thrilled by the thought. “You know, you could stay here. You don’t have to go with me”. Carol tried to follow his reasoning. As far as she knew, he was here to see her, and had no obligation in helping them out.

“Mostly tired that’s all”. She found herself nodding along, even though her gaze was mostly drawn to his neck where his hands massaged circles. The wording which followed was somewhat drawn-out. And that reminded her. The trip here must have stretched on, making the duration correspond days in travel time. No matter how capable you were of enduring difficult conditions, rest could not be turned aside forever. And speaking of time, they should have arrived at the next stop. A great while ago, it had been some hours remaining. That meant pretty much now.

*****

Carol stomped off the extra mud from her boots when she yet again stepped aboard the ship. The mission had passed off entirely without incident. She had taken on the task to supervise those intending to board the vessel. Since the planet was inhabited, their travelers still bore the appearance of the native populace. It was with a sharp vigilance she had gone over every shape passing by. This time, an aquatic planet was on the agenda. The environment was very moist, not only did water bead on her skin, but also, the native inhabitants seemed to be adapted accordingly. Smooth skin and slightly webbed hands. Every deviant manner was noted, every sign suggesting that someone in the group was not perhaps a Skrull. At a point she had been amused by the concept, for there was something comical in the thought. Once, she had been taught to be attentive towards the opposite; to consider whom potentially could be a shapeshifter. Much to her wonder, it had been surprisingly easy to reverse the concept and think backwards. She looked down and brushed off more sand from her boots. It was actually unlikely with stowaways since they would quickly be found out when failing to turn back into their expected green, lacertilian shape.

When arriving at the door leading to her quarters, Carol paused. With her hand on the panel, she wondered if there was chance Yon-Rogg had actually gone to bed, and if she would wake him up upon entering. In her stillness, it became evident that the hallway wasn’t as quiet as she was. The news about the newcomers must have made itself known, as raised voices echoed throughout the corridors. Carol considered the distant chatter. It was unlikely he would be asleep, she deduced and pushed the door open. Upon entering, she felt mistaken, as if she had walked into the wrong room. The sight was not what it used to be, meaning something had changed in appearance. She let her eyes do another scan over her surroundings. The furnishings were moved to the sides, and he had unpacked a few belongings of his own. Out of all the things amiss in her room, it was the blinking screen which mostly caught her attention. 

At the far back, Yon-Rogg was hunched down over a device. Curiously she drew nearer. He looked consumed by his work, but did glanced up at at her before resuming what he was doing. By the lack of clues from his side, she hastily tried to make out the impressions. She looked at the gear at Yon-Rogg’s feet, before letting her eyes dart back at the screen filled with Kree glyphs. “A state of sixes and sevens”, she finally said. It was her analyze of the prevailing disorder. To the dismay of her impatience, his reaction came with delay, but he seemed to have apprehended the content of her words. Carol had to admit in formulating her observation vague. Very vague. But it had fitted in so well, especially the way digits formed an arc around him. 

Another second passed by as she took in the scene. Her eyes narrowed then. If this was not coincidental, he had to have something specific in mind. On closer inspection, it was not the disarray she had first thought. Very briefly, she deduced everything was actually there. She facepalmed at herself, once again she had jumped to conclusion too fast. To her inner relief, he did not comment on her shortcoming. Instead, Yon-Rogg continued untroubled in his task of adding new digits into panels as they popped up. Suddenly, it dawned on her what he was tinkering on. 

"The software, what are you doing to it?"

"Improvements."

Even though she tried to maintain a blank expression, her doubt must have been evident, for a muscle twitched in his face. But she had her good reasons for feeling unconvinced. What counted as an improvement was highly subjective. 

"Just an update. Nothing more, nothing less”. 

“Are the others aware of it?” A slight nervousness crawled up her spine. Carol brushed off the bad feeling, although not knowing what they should expect if the others were not properly noticed. She stared at the screens and tried to find an angle from which all this didn’t look offensive.

“They'll have use of the improvement, in that sense, it won't go unnoticed”. The answer left a lot to be desired, but she could not help but to be curious what it meant. She wanted to trust him, give him another chance.

“It’s foremost updates to existing functions, no strategic moves involved.”

“It could easily be made strategic… “.

At this remark, he stopped and motioned her over, probably done with the updating. “No doubts about it. Feel like taking command?”. As far as the suggestion went, it was not to be taken seriously. Dramatically, he held out a hand towards her. For his exaggerated gestures, he received a grin from her side. Carol could see where this was heading. By taking the command, he must have referred to connecting her uniform to the system. She hesitated, but then decided to play along, and so she placed her hand in his. “It’ll be possible to detect remote signals, carry out more sophisticated calculations”, he explained, as he made the last fixes. Then, as if waiting for an ungiven cue, he took a pause before he added thoughtfully, “Perfect when planning where to head next". Somewhere in the last part, Carol could have sworn she heard a ‘we’ - just like he was indicating they should make plans on a trip of their own. “Let’s return to the here and now”, she reminded him, and received a nod. 

“More directly, it could be applied on the interior”, he continued, gesticulating out across the room, and Carol felt her own enthusiasm stir. To make a little change in the color scheme of the room turned out to be simple. It was a fun fact to discover that the system in her uniform and that of the ship was based on the same technology. The customization was easy to carry out. And this for a reason. She had sort of done it before, the first time being on a mission when she had tried to restore her uniform to its trademark look. 

“Thoughts?”, she asked upon rounding off her work. She had to say she was content with the way it turned out. Who could have thought she would have need of the odd combo of colors she had discovered on Torfa. 

“Could get used to it”. The words had a smidgeon of amuse in them. 

A thought appeared in her mind, namely that he had not yet received an accomodation. His bag was here and the room was big enough for the both of them. Well, here goes, she thought as she wet her lips. "I've been thinking and-”. She made it no further, as a knock on the door interrupted her offer. Carol was just about to answer the door, when it slid open on its own. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Yon-Rogg cross his arms behind his back. Carol did the same, but placed her hands in front of her instead. She sent him a quick look. A faint smirk and a subtle shrug was the only explanation. Carol pretended to roll her eyes and turned then to their visitor. The sight that met her eye made Carol smile. Soren. 

“Have you heard the news? We just found a potential, uninhabited planet”, Soren notified, her eyes lit with the same kind of warmth which she often was surrounded by. 

“Great. And what about the location, is it far away?”. Carol could tell she was thrilled by the news. They had now for a time kept their eyes open for a conceivable settlement. 

“A manageable distance away. It recently appeared on the radar. Its emission is fairly weak, but strong enough for detection.” With the same light note, Soren added, “There’s food if you want to join us”. The direct invitation made things easier. Carol exchanged a look with Yon-Rogg. The same expression from before adorned his face. The reply was up to her, he would be content with anything. 

“Yeah, we’d love to”


	23. One hell of an ice cube

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a little time jump in the story to speed up some parts. Hope it works and it's possible to keep up with the storyline :)

The explosion coincided exactly with the moment the timer reached zero. From the spot where she was standing, Carol felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. As the first one to jump down the escarpment, she took some further steps to observe the result. 

”A successful blowout”, she heard one of the Skrulls note. Over her shoulder she observed that the others had appeared as well. Everything seemed to be in order she noted and turned back to glancing over the landscape. Cliffs, rocks and stones, and additionally, a few plants and ferns peeking through cracks in the ground. A quick survey of the scene had been enough to state that water would not be found near the surface. She sent a glance at Norex to see if the others were ready to move on. He was the one in charge of their small expeditionary team and so far, he still looked around in an analyzing way. 

Carol kicked a loose stone, sending it bouncing away with a satisfactory sound. The journey of the stone ebbed soon away, and the echoing with it. Carol looked at the ground for the next one to follow, when another sound made it into her conscious. Without turning her head, she tried to interpret where it sounded from. A rhythmic crunching, like gravel against gravel. Footsteps it had to be, and they made their way closer. The corner of her mouth turned up when she realized who it was. Luckily, not everyone was so slow in their actions. ”Not a geyser exactly”, she commented when Yon-Rogg had joined her. 

"We have to do with the one of sand”, he replied, nodding towards the site of interest. A cloud of sand hung in the air in front of them, and the dust described just how dry it was. Bone-dry. Despite the moment of wait, they were in the middle of a mission. It was a mission to secure their access to drinkable water. The detector they had brought along showed signs of water on the planet. With one last glance at the screen, the Skrull-team was sure of their estimations. They could continue. Carol went ahead. In between the steps, she thought of what they would discover next. Occasional trees with robust trunks towered high as they passed by. “Looks promising with all the trees”, Carol said as they continued. It was evident that liquid existed somewhere, if not, it would not be possible to sight any vegetation. 

”Do you spot anything?”, she heard Yon-Rogg ask as they stopped by the edge of the crater. Carol knew the answer but took the liberty to do another sweep of the impact area before replying. The blast had not been big; they had hardly managed to dig deep under the surface. 

”Not a visible trail”. Maybe it would have been more interesting to join the party to chart the area, as well as to examine the vegetation and look for potential life forms. But she would stay by her decision. They had set up a goal and she was just as determined as the others to achieve. 

Norex, the only Skrull in the group she was certain of the name, looked contemplative. However much he squinted with his eyes he did neither seem to arrive at any conclusion. “Okay, we have to move the rocks so we can work further”. 

Carol raised her eyebrow. It was a whole lot of rubble that needed to be cleared. Norex's gaze remained steady, and she could only assume he was being serious in his request. She closed her eyes and reflected on the challenge. In her thoughts she saw herself clearing away the rocks, moving them to the side. It was possible. If their assumption about ground water held true, it would be worth the effort. She was brought back to reality when Yon-Rogg nudged her. "First one to reach the ground wins”. A challenge. It sounded interesting, and she lifted her chin in visible acknowledgement. “You bet!", she confirmed, meeting the gleam in his eye. Her heart picked up a pace. She drew back her shoulders and looked down at the task. A plan had formed in her head, and she hoped for his sake he had one too.

*****

"I suggest you take a break”. Carol tipped over a boulder and blinked up in a surprised manner. It was Talos’ voice. He stood a distance away and looked down at them in tangible appreciation. His presence was not surprising, it was rather the proposal of taking a break that had come out of the blue. The previous hour, perhaps hours as in plural, she had been in such a good flow. It seemed alien that someone would propose a break, especially when everything was going well. And above all, it was too early to decide who was doing better, she or Yon-Rogg. Because she had to admit, he did use his gravity-defying equipment well.

"I could do this all day!", she exclaimed half to herself, but not discreetly enough to go unnoticed. Golden eyes smirked at her. ”Would it take that long for you?” She did not have to come up with a counter as the situation moved on. One of the Skrulls had fetched measuring equipment. “We’ll take a sample to see if it’s worth digging”. Carol turned to Yon-Rogg. She interpreted his shrug as ‘Enough convincing. Why not’. Carol dusted off most of the gathered dust from her suit and he did the same. They could both go over to the others who had sought shade a little further away. Yon-Rogg had own plans for he said, ”You go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

 

She sent a look his way as the distance between them grew by every stride. He was most likely making his way back to their ship. She quickly wondered if she wanted to fetch something herself from there, but did not come up with anything. Interlacing her fingers, she took a moment to stretch. How would she pass the time? A break could mean a long wait. Her eyes landed on a pair of familiar faces a distance away. Soren and Talos. They were immersed in a conversation. Regardless of the distance Carol could make out a name she had heard being mentioned before. Seizing the moment, she got her feet moving. Soren greeted her with a nod as she joined them. “It’s a nice place, don’t you think?”, Soren said in a friendly voice. Her face lighted up as she commented on the gas composition, how well it suited their needs and that even the gravity was optimal. Much alike. And then she yet again named the name they so often made references to. Carol could only assume it was the name of their previous homeworld. She chanced it was. 

“Your previous homeworld, what was it like?”

The reaction to greet her was contradictory. Both looked like they wanted to have the first word, but still they looked like they contemplated well what to answer. An exchange of looks followed, and Talos was the one to answer. “Oh, if you had seen my people's finest city, filled with in splendor as it was”. As his telling stretched on, his demeanor grew a bit melancholy at the reminder. “Or perhaps it is better you did not experience it”, he continued, “for it saves you the sorrow of seeing it gone.”

“I’m sorry”. Even though it was a reflexive stock-answer, feelings of sympathy managed to find their way into the wording. Soren put a hand on Carol’s shoulder. ”It’s in the past”. Her gaze dwelled a moment on Talos. “Let us focus on what we have”.

*****

Carol took a deep breath. The air felt hot when she breathed out again. The others had retreated to shaded spots, as had she. A moment had passed, and she had settled to stand a distance away. It was not actually that hot, it was foremost the suit which contributed to that feeling. Regardless, it was enough warm that you wished it to be evening soon and she could give anything for something to drink right now. There were different degrees of thirst. Yet, the level when the situation becomes equated with a desert having found itself to the mouth had not been reached, but it was on a good way turning into one. She inverted her surroundings. The air closest to the ground shimmered just as if a mirage was about to form. And it did. She knew she had phantasy which was not merely limited to dreams and distant memories but this took the cake. Yon-Rogg with a pair of iced drinks in his hands. 

“I’m back”, he said, reaching her a glass. “For you”.

A cool feeling spread across her hand upon impact. No mirage could do that. She held an actual, and to her appreciation, cool, glass in her hands. The glass was almost filled to the brim with ice cubes. She raised the glass for a quick inspection. The contents, which was effervescent, had a faint blue color. There was also another detail which made her look twice. A fruit slice hung on the edge. Her lips curved in amusement. “Is it supposed to echo a Star Dazzle?”, she said, looking into the small bubbles. 

She brought the rim of the glass to her lips and was about to take a sip but had pause due to the look she received form Yon-Rogg. “What?”, she wondered, lifting a perfect eyebrow. She placed the glass between them in hopes it would be the ice cubes which melted before she did. ”You look like you’re about to gulp it down as it was water”, he said slowly. The words were almost accurate, but not the whole truth. Water was the keyword. “Yeah?”. She made a new attempt but eventually had to give up. The same expression from before adorned his face and she could not drink when the sight of it turned the corner of her mouth into a smile. This reminded her of all the times she had been allowed to attend the same dinner party as him, and he had cautioned her he wouldn’t walk her home in the end if she regarded brewages as water. Still he had walked her home. She smiled at the memory. 

"But joking aside, are you serious?"

She picked up a fruit slice from where it had been garnishing her glass as the thought about her answer. She bit into the wedge. “You’re not too far away with your guess”. A sudden sourness made her grimace. The exotic fruit happened to have a bitter-sweet aftertaste, and she had to take a break in her sentence. A bitter-sweet fruit. Perhaps she should have anticipated it. 

And he? He only raised his own glass, taking an exemplary sip, and she found herself copying him. The taste was pleasing - fruity , but not too thirst-quenching given the situation. “But back to your point. Yeah. A part of me had kinda hoped it was water. I could drink a river”. The reaction was not the one she had hoped for. Instead of smile wrinkles, lines of concern appeared on his forehead, and she wanted only to lean forwards and sooth them away. 

“Since when did you have water then?”, he queried. 

“Can’t remember”, she admitted. It could have been hours ago – or days ago – it was pretty much the same thing according to her. As it happened, she did not feel thirst and hunger in the same way as before after unlocking the full supply of her cosmic powers. Of course, the feeling was there, but it was a little bit different. It did not make itself as much heard. 

He nodded slowly. “Stay. I'll go fetch a water bottle”. 

Her brows drew together- she did not want him to leave. He had just come here. She tried with a couple of objections, like that it could wait for later, but he had apparently made up his mind. It was with a half-heartened expression she accepted to hold his glass as well. He was just about to turn when he paused. A feeling of hope rose in her chest and she looked up. He leaned forwards and she felt a brush against her lips. “I’ll be right back, ok?”, she thought she heard him say, but it got somewhat lost due to the parting kiss.

*****

It was partly from the waiting, and partly from, well, idleness she happened to overhear the words of a few passing Skrulls. “...and that astronomical body up there, it resembles a moon – a natural satellite.” The others hummed in agreement and one of them held out his hand, grinning widely “A good sign that this is a good place to _hang around_ ”. The chortling group was entertaining, and she cast her eyes skywards to catch sight of their mentioned astronomical body.

It was as they had said, a moon. On further inspection the surface looked almost powder grey. She stared idly down at her drink, or more specifically, at the ice cubes slowly melting in the heat, thus transforming into water. Her eyes flickered up to the grey, and near translucent, object high in the sky. Eyes widened as a sudden thought appeared. A theory, which at first sounded ludicrous, but taking all their calculations into considering, it might not after all be that stupid. _Small ice cubes in her hand. And that one up there: one hell of an ice cube._

“I don’t think it’s stone”, she let out slowly, wanting to join their discussion. Faces of interest turned to her. Carol splashed around the liquid, clinking the ice cubes against the others to emphasize her point. “It can’t be stone”. However, the action led to a sidetrack, more closely to the comment “Who’s handing out fancy drinks?”

“No one”, she replied curtly to maintain focus on what she had begun to draw a hypothesis about. “According to the measuring-device there should be copious amounts of liquid somewhere, right? And doesn’t that orb look somewhat conspicuous?” 

Norex, their ‘science guy’, followed her gaze. “You mean the moon hides ice?” She shrugged. “A wild guess only”. They seemed to consider the possibility. “It could easily be found out.” Agreement laced their voices, and she interpreted it as a go-ahead. With calculations running through her mind, she tried to estimate the object. The moon was close to disappearing from her view, so close did she squint her eyes. A plan had started to take form in her mind. Yep, she would fly over to check. This would be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sky's the limit (?)


	24. Close call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The concept of the Tesseract being the same as Mar-Vell’s core in the movie intrigues me. Maybe this qualifies as a small spoiler to the chapter, but it will make a brief appearance in this chapter, mostly because I so wanted to tie the plot to chapter 19. In the last-mentioned chapter, they briefly visited Mar-Vell’s lab and Carol got to discover the curious nature of the cube, that is, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the contents. That’s for the chapter summary, or rather, the backstory behind it. I’m surprised I haven’t yet reached the point when I start scribbling out words and ask, “what plot again?”. But give me some time, I will eventually get to that 😉 Then I’ve also thought of about writing some non-related drabbles in the future. We’ll see how that idea will be realized.

From the ground the moon had appeared to be a small orb positioned in the sky, but as Danvers was closer - floating right in front of it - it filled her whole field of vision. In other words; the orb was colossal. In all probability, three breadths of their space cruiser could be lined up and still not cover the breadth of the sphere, and their cruiser which had impressive dimensions to start off with! Carol made some extra laps around the moon, for its shape caught her interest. It wasn't completely round as one would have thought. The surface appeared even, and the orb ball-shaped, but as she made it over to the other side, it was obvious the shape was irregular. Her delight grew with her expanding expectations. What if the moon was flat on the one side because that side had been facing the sun? She leant backwards, slowing down her speed. A moment she let herself hover soundlessly, slowly gliding closer as she took in the impressions below. As far as observations went, this looked promising. When she was close enough, she let go of her powers and dropped the last distance towards the enigmatic object. 

Powderlike dust swirled up in clouds as her boots made impact to the ground. The touchdown threw her forward, but she quickly collected balance and managed to come to a halt. ‘Moon landing accomplished’, she triumphed and activated the equipment on her forearm. A few movements and a display surfaced, showing an array of functions. At last these functions would come in handy. She tapped the screen and reached out her hand. A ray of light swept over the ground and a moment later, a hologram surfaced. She was ready to have the first summary of the findings. She glanced through the list of findings, gaze searching for anything that would denote she was standing on an orb consisting of ice. Among the list of elements, her eyes caught sight of the word oxygen. 'Seems promising', she noted and continued down the list. Silicon, iron, magnesium… and hydrogen! An excited move of her hand and the current slide gave way to a summary of chemical compounds. “Yes!”, she voiced soundlessly, her eyes lit with elation. They had been right. She stared at the letters. ‘Water, solid state', before moving her gaze to the numbers adjacent to the words. Ice seemed to constitute the bigger part of the volume. A solid mass of ice, and probably stone as the core. Danvers looked down at the estimated weight. Was this a large number? At least fairly large she guessed, but then again, it wasn’t like she often contemplated the mass of planetoids. A hefty weight could only mean more water. This would be nice to take down. 

*****

The planet was barely visible from behind the moon. Carol took a moment to listen to the heartbeats in her chest. It was a loud pounding in comparison to the silent nothingness. She riveted her eyes on the moon and drew in another deep breath, even though it didn’t really matter - not for her. A few times she’d already tried to affect the course of the planetoid, but it still stayed its course. Her last two tries had truly seemed promising, and if she only tried one more time she would succeed. With every passing moment, the time gap between every heartbeat increased. Soon she would be ready to try again. This was her second break of today. While gathering strength, her thoughts were drawn to the two glasses she had left behind on the surface. The ice cubes had probably all melted by now, a pity now that she thought about it. She had really appreciated Yon-Rogg’s concern. He’d no doubt returned only to find out she was gone. ‘Wait till I’ve plucked this from the sky’, she promised. With a final effort, the icy mass left its geocentric orbit. 

Wonder drifted into pride as she looked after the moon as it slowly disappeared further away. She had done it. It was a sight to behold, a small, but significant celestial body slowly sailing through space - and she had the power to influence its path. But then she gave a sigh. The far bigger planet below had also done part of the job, maybe even significantly so, she couldn’t take all the credit of the effort herself. A gravitational pull. The force which anything with a mass had. 

Gravity. The sudden realization shook her from her daze. The object she had nudged was making its way closer to their planet. Faster and faster. Too fast. This wasn’t part of the plan. Without any further delay, she chased after the falling sphere, one single thought in mind; There was no plan. Nor was this a simple try either, for she had already decided the outcome; she would make a difference. It was all about a strong will to solve the problem they all faced, namely, to fix water to the Skrulls’ new homeworld. But in the present state of events, this wasn’t quite what she had had in mind. 

Quicker than a heartbeat, she reached the comet and threw herself in front of it in a try to slow down its course. The moon collided with her and Carol felt herself being pushed along with its downwards journey. She clenched her teeth and pressed against the force with all her might. The crushing feeling against her shoulders stirred up distant memories. Nearly the exact pressure had weighed her down when she had battled against a ballistic missile, the projectile dropped by a warship she’d destroyed a long time ago. She had then succeeded in fending off the danger, sending the projectile hurtling back from where it had come from. Although the memory gave her further strength - because she had succeeded back then - it couldn't stop a single thread of fear from slithering up her spine, where it whispered a single, undeniable fact: this was one step heavier. 

Carol could tell the exact moment they broke through the atmosphere. Although the layer of air helped diminish the speed, she hadn’t yet managed to wholly stop the hurtling sphere. Even if her hands were in front of her, outreached as she did her outermost, she couldn’t make out the outlines of them. A dazzling light was all there was. The outlines blended together to form brilliant light. It was if they were dissolving, liquifying, to pure energy. 

*****

In the light she reached out her hand. Into the light, -her hand-, but more as if residing in her consciousness. She was still there, but a part of her could exist outside the physical. A new dimension opened for her and she was standing at its gate. Instinctively she reached further into the endless blue and felt something warm touch her wrists. The power felt familiar. It was with a sense of familiarity she turned to inspect her wrist. A luminous thread emitting energy rested against her forearm. Had this happened before? _'Inexhaustible'_ , she breathed. From somewhere an answer sounded.

_'Infinite'_

Carol froze. That voice. No. Rather, the presence. She hadn’t heard it before, or had she? She wasn’t so sure anymore. It was more like a humming, something that could as well be part of the background. Incomprehensible in character. “You’ve been following me since…”. Carol trailed off. She wanted to say ‘Since forever’, but that couldn’t be true either. One thing was for certain though, the presence wasn’t too unfamiliar. Last time, she had thought it to be part of her cosmic abilities, a part of herself, which had always helped her go on. She clenched her hands around the energy and didn’t let go.

*****

When Carol yet again came around it was to discover she was lying on her back. Grimacing, she turned her head. How had she ended up here? Loose broken rock and ice met her confused eyes. What was this place? Some things were certain, she was resting on something hard. She brought her palm over the coarse surface. A rock. She closed her eyes and rested her head. Overhead, a bluish-grey sky rested.

The landscape wasn’t empty. She drew that conclusion by the sound of someone ploughing their way through - was it water? It had to be. By the sound of it, at least knee-high water. The sound was distant. It was if everything took place in some other time. But she was present, or rather, the feeling of cold against her skin was present. Someone toppled over blocks while making their way forwards. Carol looked up through her eyelashes. A green dot swam in her vision and she blinked a couple of times before it got focused. With that, the memories came flooding back. The wait. The discussion. The discovery. Bright blue light. And with it, the understanding. She turned away her gaze to something else than what inevitably closed in. Blocks of ice towered over her, steam hung in the air and she was partly immersed in a newly created lake. Furthermore, the green dot, now a green figure, started to be close enough. Close enough to make out the expression. 

“I’m not dangerous”, she said, and tried to keep her voice steady even though it felt like it would go into a thousand pieces. How wouldn’t this look from an external viewpoint? Someone who at first flew away, only to return a minute later with a comet in tow. But that wasn’t the whole truth.

“Not accidentally on purpose?”, came the response. She glanced up to see a familiar face set in a frown.

“There was water on the moon”

Talos regarded her for a long moment before he replied, “I can see that” 

The slow lapping of ripples against the stones around them increased. The change raised her attention, and Talos turn his head as well. Someone had disturbed the almost mirror blank surface. A glimpse was enough to confirm who exactly was wading towards them. The calmness which followed did wonders, it was as if the stone weighing her down was little by little pushed aside. Danvers drew in a shallow breath. She’d known he would come. Most probably he would like to question her too, but he, more than anyone else, would understand her reasoning.

However, she had to settle for a slight defeat. Yon-Rogg never met her eyes, as they were mostly trained on Talos, even if her own eyes were firmly on him. “Seems like you’ve just got your first lake, congratulations”, he simply said, breaking the eye contact to send a look over the water instead.

Carol craned her neck, not believing what she’d just heard. Talos had barely managed to stifle an unnatural sound and seemed to be frozen to the spot. This came unexpectedly even for her. Some seconds stretched on before Talos was able to sort out his thoughts. Anyone intending to be neutral in this would have condemned the situation. Which left him wondering what the Kree was up to.

“Some are frightened”, Talos managed to say. “The show was uncalled for-”, he continued, and his gaze which had previously been locked on her, moved over to Yon-Rogg. “-whether or not she managed to avert it miraculously”, he added hastily as if to hinder any potential objections.

When the piercing gaze had been lifted off her, Carol did another sweep of the surroundings. Pebbles. Shards of unmelted ice. What remained of the sphere was fragments, which had her wondering what exactly had transpired. The thought was appealing and she couldn’t help but to muse about what might have been. She must have managed to pulverize the moon despite everything. But with Talos’ choice of words, maybe not in that heroic way as she’d imagined. He had implied some had been startled. Perhaps the ground had shuddered to some extent, and all, but everything was now fine. The impact had fortunately been on the uncharted side of the planet. Curious as she was, she returned her attention on the conversation.

“They are afraid of what they cannot control.” Some words could sting, and these did. A lack of faith. The burning sensation in her chest called upon her to make an objection. She clenched her jaw. The way he presented it made the event appear more menacing than what it truly was. An array of thoughts whirled up in her mind, and Carol wanted nothing more than to just push them aside, they made her feel dizzy.

“-make them believe it’s all planned”, Yon-Rogg finished. Carol looked up, surprised. This turn of words she hadn’t expected. Finally their eyes locked. The intensive amber-like eyes brought instant relief to her apprehension. She mirrored the self-confidence that shone in them and embraced the message. Their alliance was unbroken and there was no need to spell it out that he’d take her side. He would get her out of this predicament. 

Carol got the hint. "Norex agreed on the theory that there was water on the moon". She sent Talos an earnest look. Her self-assurance grew with every passing moment of contemplation that ticked on. For a moment he almost looked like he was having conspiracy theories, but then he thought better of it and his eyes could see clear again. “All right, it makes sense”, he admitted, but not without inclining his head. He then brought his hands up for an act of agreement. “I’ll head back to rewrite the course of events”.

Yon-Rogg nodded. "For the good of all-". Carol whipped around just by hearing the first words. If he was to finish the sentence accordingly to his unwavering devotion, it wouldn’t end that well. She sent Yon-Rogg a sharp look. "-of all Skrulls", he then finished, somewhat abruptly. Talos, who had previously had his arms crossed, let them fall to his sides. "Yeah, for the good of all". He started to wade in the meltwater, going back from where he’d appeared from. In a half grumbling tone he said “Norex can probably fill in what happened...” 

Carol remained on her islet and watched his figure disappear behind an ice boulder. There were indeed numerous ice boulders around. Somehow, she must have managed to shatter it into a thousand pieces before it had touched down. When they finally were down to two, she felt Yon-Rogg turning towards her. She received a long, level look. It was that kind of even and steady look which she’d seen countless of times, but also received a couple of times herself - on Hala. And she didn't want to think about Hala right now. “Still a great plan?”. He dropped down to one knee and made a try to help her up.

"Plan’s an overstatement". There hadn’t been a plan – she’d just acted, her mind set on solving the situation they were facing. Admittedly, it had not been performed the way the others would have preferred. By the time she realized it probably was a bad idea, the moon had already escaped its orbit.

He put his arm around her waist to provide support. She was just about to rise, when a pin-like feeling made her think better of it. "Just another minute". 

He paused, and regarded her, before settling down beside her. Although he didn’t say a word, it was evident that he was discontent with the injury being this extensive that it even for their healing factor took so long to perform its regenerative ability. "This is partly why I came here. To prevent this from happening”, he admitted. Carol didn’t know what so say. It wasn’t meant as an accusation, he didn’t sound like he laid any blame on her. There were a lot of things that had seemed deviant in recent time. Yon-Rogg’s arrival had been a complete surprise, but a very welcome one, even though it had greatly diverged from their last agreement. Carol thought back at his words. “Let me guess. It was Talos who invited you”. Judging from his expression, 'invited' didn't turn out to be the exact right word, but he nodded even so. She sighed. Well, this partly explained how he had joined them so seamlessly.


	25. Further

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh joy! Christmas holidays are nearing and that means some extra spare time, which makes me so happy.  
> The concept of thirty chapters has long been around in my drafts, but now, I think 26 is closer to the truth. But I won’t scrap the unused ideas! I just feel that they belong in different stories. The future plan is to reuse those plot ideas and write two new fics when I have the time. This chapter update was somewhat late, but on the bright side, I’ve been writing some short Captain Marvel drabbles at the same time. It’s two drabbles (and a third one if things go smoothly), and I’ll try to post them in the coming days. Til then!

“Can you get up?”, Yon-Rogg asked. Carol gritted her teeth slightly at the question. Her back still ached and felt rather stiff, adding to her unwillingness to move. She closed her eyes. “Just a moment”. 

“Carol…”, Yon-Rogg pressed his lips together, forming a thin line and she wanted to know what he was holding back. “...We’ve already been here for over an hour”. Carol widened her eyes almost imperceptibly and sent him a wondering look. The gaze she looked into was steady and there was no denying that he was being honest with her. She cursed her imprecision of her sense of time. After Talos had left, she had allowed herself to rest for a while. This while had somehow turned into an hour. However Carol tried to perk up she couldn’t quite get rid of the feeling of having her head filled with cotton.

“It would be a good idea to get back to the ship”. He nodded as if to indicate the way. “Preferably before the others find their way here”.

Carol scanned the horizon. “Is it far?”, she asked, already anticipating the answer. Because she had too started to realize the necessity in moving away from the planet’s biggest attraction so far: A huge body of water. The corner of his mouth twitched into an undefined look, which told her that it was likely a rather long way. “I can carry you most of the way, and when we close in you may walk the rest”.

A flush crept across her cheeks and she turned away her face. Casually, she turned her upper body and let the movement plane into a stretching motion. Slowly she turned from one side to the other. She paused with a grim look on her face. The thought of needing assistance appeared strange. Usually, she was the strong one who would carry a fallen comrade to safety. As for now, the roles were switched. She would not be able to lift anyone, hardly even herself. “That would be for the best.”, she admitted and approved to be picked up.

****** 

Restlessness gnawed at her, and an ever-present tingling sensation, not really a pins and needle- feeling but fairly close, seemed to follow her. Her eyes soon got used to the semi-darkness of the bedroom. It never got really dark when occasional the dim strip lightning illuminated every corner of the room. She turned on her side. It was impossible to find a sleeping position. The sheets got tangled together. The feeling that her powers did not entirely derive from inside of her had faded away, but the blackened skies under her eyelids continued to wander. The out-of-body sensation returned. It felt like she floated outside her body, above it, below the ceiling.

Eventually she gave up on chasing sleep. She kicked off the blanket, leaving it as a crumpled heap at her feet. Rising was a must. If she stayed for even a second longer, moss might start growing on her. She rose and pattered towards the door. The distance was absurdly short. She hesitated in the doorway and peeked into the hallway. Not a single soul in sight. The realization made her feel no less discontent. It was most likely company she wanted she realized and started her quest to find Yon-Rogg.

Even the newly set challenge was easy. She found him right away in a study room, and it seemed like he was in the midst of writing something. She entered the room but stopped. The door did not close completely behind her but remained slightly ajar. ‘A side issue’, she decided and chose to ignore it as they were the only ones left on the space cruiser. The others were probably at the opening ceremony. She had left her boots in place of light footwear, but still, the sound of her footsteps was distinct enough to alert him of her presence. And that was precisely the idea: that he would notice her, because the plan was not to sneak up.

It was quite seldom she saw him like this. Her curiosity picked up. On the one hand, writing by hand could be a variation to keeping a digital journal. But on the other hand, he wasn’t in the service of the Kree empire anymore, so why write anything at all then? She looked over his shoulder. As she had expected, Kree hieroglyphs met the eye. Even if she had spent over six years studying them, or as her fellow Kree had put it, ‘re-learning’ them, the alphabet could still offer challenging times. One sign was in particular hard to interpret, and she hardly recognized it. The shape resembled a mountain peak, or was it perhaps a bird in flight? 

Her eyes tracked the movement of the pen for a while. He seemed to calculate something. First thing to spring to mind was that he wrote a journal or some kind of report. Maybe what you potentially could achieve if you tried something similar to what she had recently done. She wasn’t really in for drama, however, the fact that he didn’t seem to pay so much attention to her made Carol exaggerate it a bit. She sat down on his lap. 

“Mmmh”, he hummed, craning his neck to see his notes she obscured in the process. Nothing more? Carol tensed. Apparently, the name of the game was to be tougher than the other. To be successful, something unexpected was needed, something that would not easily be ignored. She had to break predictable patterns and Carol was dedicated to do just so. Carol adjusted herself closer to him, for she had already decided her next move. She kissed him but received no response. “You’re ignoring me”.

“You shouldn't be up and walking”, he shot back, leaning back to see her better. “Just making sure you rest”.

“It's funny you'd say that, because I've never felt more _restless_ ”, she quipped. 

He watched her for a moment, and if she didn’t know better, he looked somewhat amused. “You seem to have recovered”. A moment of silence followed, and Carol rested her gaze on the pen in his hand. His hand had stopped writing and he too seemed to be immersed in thought. When Yon-Rogg tapped the pen against the notes she remembered to blink. Somewhat absent, he continued “That moon was enormous, you must’ve been at your limits.” 

Carol slumped. She was a bit disappointed to hear that the conversation continued in _that_ direction. “Except for that I wasn’t”, she said, trying to recall the events and the precise feeling she’d experienced. A blue light came in mind, and it lingered. ”There was a presence”, she corrected. 

Something in her words must have caught his attention since he jerked his head. The right reaction but his attention was anchored in the wrong direction. He looked at the door. Carol tilted her head and followed his gaze. There was nothing out of the ordinary to be found there. 

“Somehow you managed to draw your powers from source unknown”, he started slowly, “And the answer eludes me”. There was something intriguing beneath the surface when Carol looked into the golden depth. 

“And you propose what?”, she said and searched for something that could give away what he had in mind. 

“That we’re done here.”

She raised an eyebrow. It sounded as he implied they would leave the planet. But it wasn’t actually that unthinkable as they had now secured a safe location for the Skrulls to reside at. “You need a new challenge and we won’t find it here”. 

Carol felt a fluttering in her stomach. Actually, she didn’t know what she had expected, or hoped for. The uncertainty was what had made her wish to prolong their mission. But Yon-Rogg was right, it was accomplished already. Still with her back turned against him, she smiled to herself. The fact that their mission was over did not feel too bad. Before there had been a black hole, but now she started to sense a ray of hope. They could start anew.

“Carol?”, he made it sound like a question. Maybe it was because she had not showed him any reaction yet. She turned around.

“We will get to the bottom of this, I promise”.


End file.
